The state prosecutor's office on Monday has indicted six construction contractors and foremen on accounts of negligence and breaches of workplace safety regulations among others, following a host of construction accidents resulting in workers' injuries, some severe.
One of the indictments accuses three men of being responsible for the injury of a construction worker in March 2019.
The contractor was hired to install solar panels at a storage depot.
A worker climbed on top of the 8.5-meter (28-feet) building when he stepped on a transparent plastic board mounted on the roof, breaking the board. The worker, who wasn't secured by any protective gear, fell to the ground and sustained serious injuries.
The prosecution claimed the contractor did not take reasonable precautions to prevent the risk to the worker's life and did not provide him with personal protective equipment, contrary to the worker's employment contract.
Another indictment accuses two contractors of being responsible for the injury of a construction worker in June 2019.
The contractors were hired to replace the roofing of a factory in the southern city of Ashkelon.
One of the workers was standing on the building's roof without a permit or proper training to work at heights and without being secured to an adequate anchor point so that while working on the roof, he was not protected from falling.
The worker stepped on a plastic board that wasn't fixed to the roof, the board bent, and the worker fell 6 meters (20 feet), hitting the factory floor and sustaining serious injuries.
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Emergency services at a construction site in central Israel
(Photo: Magen David Adom)
An additional indictment accuses a contractor of being responsible for the injury of a construction worker in April 2019.
The contractor was hired to do flooring work and install a rail at a Sderot building staircase.
One of the workers, while gluing ceramic tiles at the top of the staircase, moved back and fell 3 meters (10 feet) off the edge of the staircase that did not have a railing.
The state prosecutor's office said in a statement that it will continue its crackdown on employers causing serious injuries to their employees through negligent conduct.
"The prosecution, in cooperation with the labor ministry and police, uses all the legal tools at its disposal to prosecute those responsible for serious accidents to the full extent of the law," the statement read.