Mr Pedley was exposed to excessive levels of noise, whilst working for Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council, for a period of over 35 years, beginning in 1977. Mr Pedley was based at 3 sites during this time; firstly at Townley Street, Middleton, Manchester, secondly at Millfold Road, also of Middleton latterly, at the Green Lane site in Heywood, Lancashire. Mr Pedley has been employed as a refuse and recycling loader, on a full time basis.

During Mr Pedley’s employment, he has been exposed to the noise of the collection wagons, the noise of materials (including glass bottles and cans) being emptied into the wagons and hitting the bottom of the wagon wells and the crushing noise of the wagons crushing the materials. He advises that also, if a bin would not empty easily, he would have to bang it on the side of the wagon well, in order to release the contents.

At the time of Mr Pedley’s claim, he had never been made aware of the dangers that working in excessive noise can give rise to. Mr Pedley now suffers from mild noise induced hearing loss and mild noise related tinnitus, which was confirmed when WE Solicitors arranged a medical assessment of his hearing condition. This was presented to the defendants, as part of the evidence, to support Mr Pedley’s claim.

WE Solicitors were able to negotiate an out of court settlement of £6,500.00 for Mr Pedley, avoiding the need for court proceedings. Both Mr Pedley and WE Solicitors are very pleased with the outcome.