Mrs W wins a payout of just over £2,000.00, for Noise Induced Hearing Loss.

Mrs W was employed by Perseverance Mills Ltd of Padiham, Burnley from 1961 to 1963 and again from 1964 to 1973. She was employed as a cotton weaver, working in the weaving sheds. Throughout her employment, she was exposed to the noise of hundreds of weaving looms, including Lancashire, Saurer and silk looms. Mrs W advises that the noise of the loom shuttles clattering all day was deafening.

At no point during Mrs W’s employment did her employer ever warn her about the dangers of noise exposure or provide her with hearing protection. As a result of their negligence, Mrs W now suffers from mild noise induced hearing loss and mild noise related tinnitus, which was confirmed when WE Solicitors LLP arranged for Mrs W to undergo a medical assessment of her hearing condition

WE Solicitors managed to agree an out of court settlement of £2,056.50 for Mrs W, in settlement of her claim against Perseverance Mills Ltd. This was based on a total valuation of £2,500.00, but discounted for the time Mrs W was exposed to noise pre-1963. The Courts deemed that 1963 should be the date of guilty knowledge, when employers should have had enough knowledge to protect their employees’ ears from noise damage. Therefore, any noise exposure before 1963 is normally not recoverable.

Overall, Mrs W and WE Solicitors were very happy with the outcome.