Claim for acoustic shock
07/01/2021
A claim for acoustic shock alleged to have arisen whilst connecting a ‘radiolink’ device to a television in the home of a user of British sign language or hearing impairment. A radio link device attaches to a TV and enables someone to listen through a headset. The Claimant who worked for the local council alleged that she suffered a significant dose of noise exposure when connecting the device as the home owner had the television volume set to a high level.
The claimant pleaded breaches of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, Employers Liability (Defective Equipment) Act and Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005. Common law breaches were also pleaded which could have resulted in damages to the claimant being paid.
Nottingham City Council contacted us about the claimant and together with our panel solicitors Weightmans we were fully supportive and through thorough investigations obtained strong medical and acoustic engineering evidence.
Supporting our customer in defending the claim
Detailed investigations and witness evidence were obtained from the Council, together with medical and engineering expert evidence to assist the defence.
1) Detailed Medical evidence:
We obtained medical evidence from a medical practitioner who did not accept that the pattern of the Claimant’s hearing loss was compatible with acoustic trauma. He supported those conclusions by reference to the following;
- The pattern of hearing loss and the alleged severity.
- An increasing loss developing over the fair few days of the incident – when recovery of hearing would be anticipated
- The presence of accompanying vertigo
- He favoured “on balance” that the incident was an episode of Ménière's
2) Acoustic Engineering evidence:
Engineering evidence was obtained which concluded that:
- The Claimant’s daily LEPD exposure is unlikely to have reached the first action level set out within the Noise at Work Regulations
- The peak sound level to which the Claimant was exposed is unlikely to have exceeded 106 dBA – i.e. within the 135 dB (c) limits set out in the Regulations
We also obtained detailed statements from the Council who provided access to the relevant evidence. We worked closely on disclosure and obtaining a ‘radiolink’ device for testing.
Nottingham City Council had a solid document retention policy, which meant they were able to access the device documentation and manufacturer details which really strengthened the case as it allowed enquiries with the equipment manufacturer and also had willing defence witnesses.
This was an unusual case for acoustic shock – fitting a device in someone’s home – by a claimant who was already hard of hearing. It was an important case as these devices are used by the Council routinely and could have impacted that provision.
The Outcome
On presenting these findings the Claimant discontinued proceedings ahead of serving her own engineering evidence.
The final value of the claim was £499,700 however through careful collection of evidence and working with our panel lawyer the final costs are likely to conclude around £25,000 for defence costs.
