Issuing Body: Guozun Cathay Associates Israel Office
Date of Conclusion: 28 August 2026
Key Outcomes: Broke through the information barrier on the patient’s medical condition within 24 hours; the case was fully resolved via out-of-court settlement; the enterprise involved bore all overseas ICU medical expenses in full and paid a one-time disability compensation.
1. Case Background and Engagement Process
A Chinese migrant worker had been employed in Israel’s construction sector for over ten years. Recently, as his work visa expired without timely renewal, he transferred to work on an ongoing project in Israel operated by a large domestic Chinese construction general company, with no written employment contract signed between the two parties. In mid-June 2026, the worker suffered a major safety accident at the construction site and was immediately admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a local hospital. Owing to the strict patient privacy protection standards enforced by Israeli medical institutions, they refused to disclose any information about the patient’s condition and treatment to the family in China, in the absence of immediate family members on site and valid legal authorisation.
Facing three simultaneous urgent dilemmas — inability to verify the patient’s condition, long processing cycle for personal entry visas to Israel, and shifting of responsibility between the domestic and overseas enterprises involved — the family was connected to the Israel Office via the Beijing Head Office of Guozun Cathay Associates on 18 June 2026. Given that the case involved three core difficulties: emergency humanitarian visitation, determination of labour relations under both Chinese and Israeli jurisdictions, and cross-border work injury compensation, the Israel Office activated the China-Israel Emergency Collaborative Case Handling Mechanism on the same day. A dedicated case team was set up jointly with the foreign-related labour law team of the Beijing Head Office, staffed by locally practising lawyers in Israel and members of the Foreign-Related Lawyer Talent Pool of the Beijing Lawyers Association, to act as the fully authorised representative for the whole process of emergency medical coordination and work injury claims.
2. Full Process of China-Israel Joint Case Handling
This case adopted the standardised collaborative model: “The Beijing Head Office takes charge of liability tracing under Chinese law, family liaison and overall legal scheme coordination; the Israel Office takes charge of local medical liaison, insurance declaration and local law implementation”. All procedural links are properly documented and traceable:
2.1 18 June 2026 – 19 June 2026: Emergency Response and Medical Condition Verification
Beijing Head Office: Completed family engagement formalities, systematically sorted out the injured worker’s employment history, industrial and commercial information of the domestic employer and project-related clues, issued the Emergency Action Plan for China-Israel Cross-Border Work Injury Cases, and clarified the case priority and core rights protection pathway.
Israel Office: Immediately coordinated with local cooperating practising lawyers, and directly liaised with the medical administration department of the treating hospital by presenting lawyer practising certificates and special powers of attorney. It completed identity verification and confirmation of the severe condition on the same day, and simultaneously established a mechanism for daily lawyer visits and medical condition updates, completely breaking the cross-border information barrier.
2.2 20 June 2026 – 25 June 2026: Assistance with Humanitarian Emergency Visa
Beijing Head Office: Assisted the family in preparing a full set of application materials, including kinship notarisation, medical diagnosis certificate of the injured worker and power of attorney, formally liaised with the Embassy of Israel in China, and activated the humanitarian emergency family visit visa channel.
Israel Office: Simultaneously submitted a legal opinion to the Israeli Ministry of Interior and Immigration Authority to substantiate the urgency of the case and the necessity of visitation, and cooperated with the embassy to complete cross-border document verification. The family obtained the emergency entry visa to Israel in only 3 working days, far shorter than the conventional processing cycle.
2.3 5 July 2026 – 15 July 2026: Construction of Evidence Chain for De Facto Labour Relationship
Beijing Head Office: Officially issued a lawyer’s letter to the domestic construction general company, comprehensively collected materials including co-worker testimony, work dispatch records, wage payment slips and project personnel rosters. Combined with on-site photos and accident reports, it confirmed the de facto employment relationship between the injured worker and the company, and clarified the legal liability of the employing entity.
Israel Office: Obtained local on-site materials such as construction site attendance records, safety briefing logs and subcontracting cooperation agreements, which formed cross-verification with domestic evidence and consolidated the local probative force of the de facto labour relationship.
2.4 16 July 2026 – 28 July 2026: Work Injury Registration and Implementation of Medical Expense Guarantee
Beijing Head Office: Coordinated compensation rules under both jurisdictions, formulated a dual-track compensation scheme of “social security as the baseline + enterprise supplementary payment”, and guided and reviewed the full set of work injury declaration materials to ensure compliance with legal requirements of both China and Israel.
Israel Office: Cooperated with local lawyers to formally submit a work injury recognition application to the National Insurance Institute of Israel (Bituach Leumi), completed work injury registration and filing under the Israeli National Insurance Law, and pushed the insurance institution and the involved enterprise to jointly advance all medical expenses during the ICU stay, resolving the pressing need for huge medical costs at the earliest opportunity.
2.5 1 August 2026 – 15 August 2026: Dual-Track Pressure to Initiate Out-of-Court Settlement
Beijing Head Office: Held continuous legal consultations with the domestic construction general company, expounded on employment liability under Chinese labour law, cross-border litigation risks and corporate reputation impact, and prompted the enterprise to formally launch the out-of-court settlement procedure.
Israel Office: Simultaneously issued a legal demand letter to the local Israeli subcontractor, clarifying its statutory employment and security obligations under the Israeli Foreign Workers Law, creating two-way pressure across China and Israel to compel the responsible party to face up to its compensation liability.
2.6 16 August 2026 – 28 August 2026: Settlement Negotiation and Successful Conclusion
Beijing Head Office: Represented the family in multiple rounds of negotiations with the domestic general company, defined disability compensation standards, calculation of lost earnings, subsequent rehabilitation costs and the plan for escorting the injured worker back to China, and drafted and finalised the Agreement on Work Injury Medical Treatment and One-Time Disability Compensation.
Israel Office: Verified the details of local medical expense settlement, confirmed the scope of work injury insurance coverage and the boundary of the enterprise’s supplementary compensation liability, to ensure the enforceability of the agreement terms under Israeli law. On 28 August 2026, the two parties formally signed the settlement agreement. The domestic general company settled all overseas medical expenses in full, the one-time disability compensation was paid in full and on time to the account designated by the family, and the plan for escorting the injured worker back to China was confirmed simultaneously. The case was successfully concluded.
3. Core Case Handling Difficulties and Authoritative Solutions
The difficulties in this case represent common issues in cross-border work injury cases involving Chinese workers in Israel. Relying on dual-jurisdiction professional competence and practical experience, the Guozun joint team has developed a replicable standardised solution:
3.1 Information Access for Severely Ill Patients Overseas and Guarantee of Emergency Visitation Rights
Professional Basis: Privacy protection provisions of the Israeli Patient Rights Law, investigatory powers of practising lawyers under the Israeli Lawyers Law
Solution: Leverage Israel’s local lawyer practice network, submit formal authorisation documents in the capacity of local practising lawyers, and complete medical condition verification and visitation authorisation directly with hospital medical administration departments, within the framework of full compliance with local privacy regulations. This approach replaces the traditional consular referral inquiry route, shortening the information acquisition cycle from the conventional 7 working days to within 24 hours.
3.2 Determination of De Facto Labour Relationship with Expired Visa and No Written Contract
Professional Basis: Article 7 of the Labour Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China on de facto labour relationship determination, Article 1D of the Israeli Foreign Workers Law, and the “fact of employment first” recognition principle shared by Chinese and Israeli labour laws
Solution: Adopt a cross-verification model of “domestic core evidence + local supplementary evidence”, integrate multi-dimensional evidence including co-worker testimony, dispatch records, wage vouchers, on-site traces and site attendance logs. It breaks through the defence that “no written contract means no labour relationship”, and fully establishes the employment liability of the domestic general company.
3.3 Dual Guarantee of Medical Treatment and Compensation in Cross-Border Work Injury Scenarios
Professional Basis: Article 79 of the Israeli National Insurance Law, Article 73 of the Labour Law of the People’s Republic of China, Article 43 of the Law on the Application of Law for Foreign-Related Civil Relations
Solution: Establish a dual-track rights protection mechanism of “Israeli local social insurance as the baseline + domestic employer supplementary compensation”. First, cover the immediate huge medical expenses through Israeli national work injury insurance; then claim differential benefits such as disability compensation, lost earnings and rehabilitation costs from the domestic general company via out-of-court negotiation. This avoids long-cycle, high-cost cross-border labour arbitration and litigation proceedings, and achieves efficient and full rights protection.
4. Applicable Authoritative Legal Bases
4.1 Chinese Laws
1.Article 73 of the Labour Law of the People’s Republic of China: Workers shall enjoy social insurance benefits in accordance with law in cases of work-related disability or occupational disease. The conditions and standards for workers to enjoy social insurance benefits shall be prescribed by laws and regulations.
2.Article 43 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Application of Law for Foreign-Related Civil Relations: For a labour contract, the law of the place where the worker performs work shall apply; where the place of work is difficult to determine, the law of the principal place of business of the employer shall apply. For labour dispatch, the law of the place of dispatch may apply.
3.Article 7 of the Labour Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China: An employer establishes a labour relationship with a worker from the date of employment. The employer shall keep a staff roster for reference.
4.2 Israeli Laws
1.Article 79 of the Israeli National Insurance Law: An accident occurring during work and arising out of work shall be legally recognised as a work injury, and the insured person shall be entitled to medical treatment and disability compensation.
2.Article 1D of the Israeli Foreign Workers Law: An employer must arrange private medical insurance for foreign workers at its own expense that meets the standards prescribed by the Minister of Health, and shall not evade this statutory obligation on the grounds of the worker’s visa status.
3.Relevant provisions of the Israeli Patient Rights Law: A practising lawyer holding a formal authorisation from the patient or his legal representative shall have the right to obtain the patient’s medical information and conduct visitation in accordance with statutory procedures.
5. Authoritative Practical Recommendations Based on Case Experience
Drawing on years of experience in China-Israel cross-border labour legal services from Guozun Cathay Associates Israel Office, the following three practical recommendations are put forward for workers bound for Israel and foreign engineering contracting enterprises:
1.Frontloaded employment compliance: Overseas enterprises shall timely complete work visa renewal for overseas workers, sign standard written employment contracts, and enrol workers in statutory Israeli local work injury insurance and medical insurance in accordance with law, to eliminate the rights protection vacuum caused by expired visas and absence of written contracts.
2.Regularised evidence retention: Workers shall properly keep documents such as work dispatch notices, wage payment vouchers and contact information of co-workers; enterprises shall establish employment files for overseas projects, and standardise written records of attendance management, safety training, accident handling and other full-process procedures, to ensure effective proof in the event of disputes.
3.Professionalised emergency response: Overseas workers and their families shall learn about local legal service channels in advance. In the event of major work injuries, personal injuries or other emergencies, they shall entrust a lawyer team with dual-jurisdiction service capabilities in China and Israel to intervene at the earliest opportunity, so as to avoid delaying optimal treatment and rights protection timing due to information gaps and procedural differences.