A retired electrician has been successful in claiming £3,500 compensation after he was left with noise-induced hearing loss following continued exposure whilst working.

The Claim

Mr G was employed as an electrician for more than 30 years, during which time he’d often been exposed to excessive noise. Though Mr G rarely used loud equipment himself, he was regularly surrounded by noises from drills, bricking and mechanical saws. For most of his career, no hearing protection was offered to Mr G and when it was available, it was never mandatory.

Mr G began suffering from hearing problems 10 years after leaving his first employer. Although he visited his GP about these problems, he was never treated for hearing loss, but had his ears syringed several times. It was only in 2013 that Mr G first connected his hearing problems with his previous work and contacted JMW to make a claim. His case was taken on by JMW associate, Abigail Morrison.

The Claim Process

A statement was obtained from Mr G that detailed his experience of working for two previous employers. He said that in the years that followed his career, his friends and family had complained that he talked too loudly. He also had trouble distinguishing speech when background noise was present. Mr G also said that he sometimes heard ringing in his ears and attributed this to exposure to drill noise in previous years.

The team decided to pursue a claim against Mr G’s former employers at Northern Electric and arranged for his medical and employment records to be obtained. Upon confirming that no treatment for or diagnosis of hearing loss had been previously recorded, Abigail arranged for Mr G to have an audiogram. The results showed that Mr G was suffering from hearing loss that could be partly explained by the ageing process and partly attributed to exposure to loud noise. The consultant examining Mr G estimated that the client’s need for hearing loss aids had been accelerated by 7-12 years as a result of the noise that he had been exposed to during his career.

Approaching the Defendant

A letter of claim was sent to the defendant after the medical consultant attributed the client’s noise-related hearing loss to his former job. The defendant, Northern Electric, admitted liability and made Mr G a part 36 settlement offer of £3,500.

After careful consideration, Mr G accepted Northern Electric’s offer.

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