Jonathan Davies & Co., Law Firm

Jonathan Davies & Co. is one of Israel’s leading medical malpractice, torts and insurance law firms, with over 40 years of experience representing Plaintiffs in various personal injury claims. Jonathan Davies is the President of the Society of Medicine and Law in Israel and serves as the Governor to Israel for the World Association for Medical Law (WAML) which represents Doctors and Lawyers and Medical Professions who specialize in Medical Law. The firm’s knowledge in Israeli and international medical law and its experience in complex medical law claims are expressed in each and every case, with the personal involvement of Adv. Jonathan Davies throughout the process.
The firm, which was founded by Adv. Jonathan Davies in 1988, represents victims vs. state authorities (IDF, National Insurance), medical institutions (HMOs and government hospitals) and private entities (institutions, physicians, clinics, insurers) in liability, torts, insurance, medical law, medical malpractice claims, and general civil law litigations and representation.
The firm handles the most complex medical malpractice claims, uses the services of Israel’s best medical experts. It aspires for optimal legal results with attention to all of the social rights for which the victims are entitled. One of the outstanding cases that the firm is handling is a few dozens of individual claims on behalf of parents who adopted children adopted from foster homes in East European countries. The children suffer from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD). These are unprecedented claims arguing for ‘wrongful adoption’ and going to set a legal, medical and social precedent. The individual tort claims have an international impact on adoption.
Another high profile claim the Firm filed is a petition for a class action against pharmaceutical companies who manufactures a drug that supposed to avoid hair loss (Finasteride 1mg) that caused them anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts following dramatic regulatory developments especially in Europe that led to a personal injury case that the firm filed on behalf of an Estate of a person who committed suicide after using the drug for 7 days. The claim is in its last stages and whatever its outcome is it will have a huge impact on World Wide Pharmaceutical – Doctor – Patient relationship.

Legal Precedents

In its three decades of operations, the firm set numerous precedents in the Supreme Court and the National Labor Court, and led to numerous binding precedents that serve as pillars of Israeli medical law, including a ruling of the Supreme Court President Shamgar that regulates disclosure obligations of insurers to the insured, a patient rights’ ruling which determines that a lack of sufficient experience of an Israeli doctor justifies funding surgery abroad, a ruling concerning the relative deduction of benefits from tort compensations, and a ruling concerning wrongful birth, that served as a basis for a binding precedent of the Supreme Court, determining that an Ultra-Orthodox woman can decide to abort, regardless of her religious beliefs. In addition, a ruling concerning the Spoliation of medical records by a senior physician, and an important recent ruling concerning the required follow-up after a Sleeve Gastrectomy procedure. The firm aims to reformulate the patient-medical-staff relationship through a precedential lawsuit concerning a physician who died following “Sham Peer Review” from his colleagues. Thus, the firm exposes the behind-the-scene dynamics of hospitals and fights for the right of patients to know of such dynamics. Additional precedents include rulings concerning patients’ rights under the National Health Insurance Law, Medical Malpractice in various medical fields, obstetrics complications, surgery complications, misdiagnosis, medication and prescription errors, insurance and tort claims, chemicals/radiation exposure torts, accidents and medical experts. Lately the firm compromised a few high profile personal injury cases on behalf of minors in outstanding compensation.

Innovative Projects in the Practice Area

In addition to the expertise the firm has acquired in managing complex medical malpractice claims, the firm represents victims in tort claims. For example, the firm represents a severely injured victim in the mass tort Meron disaster claim, represents foreign residents in complex tort claims involving expertise in private international law, and more. Because of this, the firm is recognized as one of the leading firms in Israel in the field of medical malpractice and tort law. It is also included in the list of esteemed lawyers (Lawyers of Distinction) recognized by the American Bar Association: https://www.lawyersofdistinction.com/
The firm strives to achieve the best possible legal outcome while considering the full range of social rights to which the victim is entitled. The firm, which has built a reputation for over three decades, has offices in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Most of the activities are concentrated in the office at the HaArbaa Towers (Southern Tower, 9th Floor) in Tel Aviv.
The use of AI has reached out to many areas of our life including the Law. The firm has conducted a pilot study with medical experts to reduce bias of experts in Medical Malpractice cases and compared older case law with generative AI tools. The study titled Artificial Intelligence as an Aid for Medical Literature Review in Medical Malpractice Cases: A Pilot Study is about to be published in local and international Medical and Legal periodical reviews. The firm has published an updated a book chapter in a Forensic Medicine Encyclopedia titled: “Bias in Expert Opinion Presented to Court and the Use of Artificial Intelligence to Diminish Bias” The chapter will be published in the next few months as part of the Encyclopedia of Medicine and Law in Asia and Australia published by Springer Publishing co.
As President of the Society for Medicine and Law in Israel, Jonathan Davies organized a 3 day conference that included 5 sessions on medico legal Issues such as post Covid effects, Post Trauma effects on chronic diseases, the influence of class actions on Public Health Law and Can AI tools reduce Bias in expert opinions an Evidence Based Medicine. The firm will continue to develop tools to improve the use of medical literature in Medical Malpractice cases in order to improve the use of Evidence Based Medicine (EBM).
Adv. Jonathan Davies
Adv. Davies has an LL.B., Tel Aviv University (1993) and LL.M. (Commercial Law, magna sum laude), Tel Aviv University together with UC Berkeley (2012). He has 40 years of experience in medical malpractice, torts, insurance, liability, litigation, medicine and law, occupational illnesses, bodily harm, OSH, receiving medical rights, bio-tech and class actions. He was the chief editor of the “Medicine and Law” journal of the Israeli Law and Medicine Association for 15 years. Jonathan Davies is the President of the Society of Medicine and Law in Israel. In addition, he is the Secretary General (SG) of the WAML and Member in the Board of Governors of WAML, Member of the educational committee. Executive and presidential board member of the Medicine and Law Association, Member of the management board of the Health, Law and Ethics center next to Haifa University, Life Member of the British Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) and Fellow of the American College of Legal Medicine (ACLM). He is also a Member of the Helsinki Committee, which approves/rejects human experiments for the Meuhedet HMO and a Bar-certified mediator. He is renowned as an authority in his field and published numerous books and articles in Hebrew and in English. Advocate Davies has set up a fund for the memory of his late father Prof. Michael Davies, the fund Donets to a prize-winning competition of young researchers from the WAML that promotes Public Health Law issues.