A compensation suit amounting to tens of millions of shekels on behalf of the victims of the Versailles Hall disaster was filed today in the Jerusalem District Court today.
The respondents are the State of Israel, Jerusalem municipality, the local planning and building committee, the National Building Research Institute, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, the Standards Institute, all those involved in developing and applying the Pal Kal construction technique, the Versailles Hall owners, and insurance companies that insured the hall.
The 225 petitioners, those injured in the disaster and the heirs of those killed, allege that the respondents are liable for the Versailles Hall collapse in May 2001.
The disaster occurred during the wedding of Assaf and Karen Dror, when the floor of the Versailles Hall collapsed onto the floors beneath, all of which subsequently collapsed as well. 23 people were killed and 356 injured in the disaster.
The petitioners allege that the respondents, each in its own area of liability, were negligent of human life and limb in that they knew the risks in using the Pal Kal building technique in general and in the Versailles Hall in particular. The respondents were also aware of the repeated and varied violations in various areas that increased the risks at banqueting halls, while each respondent has been trying to pass the liability onto others.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on January 1, 2004