Worker Receives Compensation for Hearing Impairment from Three Employers
Three companies accepted liability and paid damages to an erstwhile employee for his hearing disability caused by work conditions. The settlement was arrived out of court.
John Walton was working in the capacity of welder with three different employers for nearly 30 years, from 1978 to 2007. He was employed initially with British Steel Corporation (now Corus), followed by jobs at Darchem Projects Limited and Turbros Engineering. During these years of employment, he was required to work in noisy areas owing to the nature of his welding assignments.
Walton developed hearing loss over the years, owing to the exposure to high noise levels at work. However, he did not attribute his failing hearing to work conditions. Only when he had a medical examination done in 2007 did he realise that his hearing loss was a direct cause of the hours of work carried out in a noisy environment. Subsequently he contacted his workers’ union, the GMB, which asked its lawyers Thompsons Solicitors to take up his cause.
The three companies accepted liability for the loss of hearing caused to Walton and agreed to recompense him out of court. Walton received a total of 12,750 pounds as compensation from his former employers.
Commenting on the case, Thompsons Solicitors said that many employees who are adversely affected by poor working conditions fail to realise this and instead believe their hearing problems have arisen due to ageing. They pointed out that it was the employees’ right to claim compensation for hearing damage caused at the workplace.
The GMB said exposing employees to risk at work amounts to negligence and must be avoided by employers at all costs, failing which they must compensate their workers.
Companies need to be sure that they are giving the correct instructions to employees with regard to health and safety issues. The health and safety consultants from Workplace Law can assist companies in training staff to be aware of the proper health and safety procedures by identifying and improving upon awareness and attitude, and communication about safety to improve the health and safety culture within an organisation.
