Leading Sheffield law firm Wake Smith has helped a Nottingham woman make legal history today, after a ruling at the Court of Appeal agreed her employer, knitting company Quantum Clothing Group, should have done more to protect her hearing.
As a result, thousands of workers will now be eligible to claim compensation from employers who failed to provide adequate hearing protection.
After a 5 year court battle, Stephanie Baker, 51, has been awarded £3,500 compensation following the landmark decision at the Court of Appeal that the average employer should have known that noise levels of 85 decibels was not safe and should have provided hearing protection to workers after 1978.
UK insurance companies have spent millions over the last 5 years in legal fees and costs to try to stop the claim.
The ruling now means that any man or woman who worked in a factory amongst moderate noise levels between 1978 and 1990 now has the right to claim compensation for hearing loss from noise damage.
Terry Regan, partner at Wake Smith & Tofields, who has worked on the case since 2003, said: "This is a landmark case, re-writing 30 years of legal practice. Before this case it was widely believed that employers were not legally responsible for hearing loss in their workers unless they were exposed to high levels of noise. The Court has now recognised that injury from lower level noise exposure could have been avoided.
Stephanie worked for 20 years in a hosiery factory called Simpson Wright & Lowe checking stockings for faults and packing them for various big name retailers. It is believed she was subjected to 85 decibels of noise, which was previously not recognised as causing injury before 1990.
In 2003 Stephanie found it more difficult to hear in the pub than other people her age. She also developed occasional ringing in her ears, known as tinnitus. A hearing test later confirmed that she had damage to her hearing in the highest frequencies known as Noise Induced Hearing Loss.
There are predicted to be tens of thousands of people like Stephanie Baker all around the country who now have the right to claim; many of which may have been exposed to noise they didn't think loud enough to cause damage.
Terry Regan added: "This will help more people to seek justice against employers who have not taken the correct provisions.
"This ruling has wider, positive implications beyond Noise Induced Hearing Loss as there is likely to be extra protection in all areas for workers. Employers will need to be more proactive in creating and maintaining a safe place of work, something all workers are entitled to".
