Useful information

• Personal Injury Claim
• Road Accident Claim
• Serious Injury Claim
• Medical Negligence Claim
• Birth Injury Claim
• PIAB Application Guide
• Statute of Limitation
• No Win No Fee Guide

Noise Induced Hearing Loss

Noise-induced hearing loss occurs most commonly in the workplace, where workers are regularly exposed to noise levels of over 80 dBA. Such exposure over a long period can result in permanent hearing loss, often occurring gradually. For a confidential consultation, please call us at 1800-844-104 for free or email [email protected].

Your employer’s liability regarding noise-induced hearing loss

Irish employers must inform employees if the noise level in the workplace is likely to exceed 85 dBA and tell them about the potential risk of hearing loss. They are also obliged to provide the services of a qualified audiologist to offer hearing checks and, if necessary, hearing protection. Aviation, agriculture, construction, forestry, and manufacturing workers have a significantly higher risk of developing tinnitus and hearing difficulty. So, if you work in any of these industries, you must take precautions. Irish Times 1997 – Employers cannot afford to turn a deaf ear to staff hearing problems

Common causes for hearing loss

The following are the most common forms of impaired hearing that arise from over-exposure to loud noise in the workplace.

1. Tittinus: which causes a ringing or buzzing sound in both ears;

2. Acoustic Shock Syndrome: which is damage to the ear caused by a single intense “impulse” sound at proximity, such as an explosion or bang, or through repeated exposure to high-frequency, high-intensity sounds through a headset.

3. Occupational Deafness: Noise-induced hearing loss in the workplace can cause permanent cell damage to the inner ear, resulting in partial or complete deafness. Compensation may be achieved for this.

General damages for the injury and special damages, which are those out-of-pocket expenses borne by the claimant due to the accident and any loss of earnings, may be recoverable from an employer who has failed in their duty of care to the employee. Particularly for special damages, claimants may recover expenses arising from the need to undergo surgery and have specific adaptations made to their homes, such as adapted telephones, doorbells and alarm clocks. Furthermore, the need for hearing aids, batteries and replacements, and sign language training may also be recoverable.

Industries with a high risk of work-related hearing loss

The following sectors are amongst the most common within which workers are at risk of hearing loss;

• Construction
• Road drilling
• Mining
• Engineering
• Shipyards
• Car manufacturing

However, many other industries and work environments may result in workers suffering damage, and in these circumstances, anyone who believes that their impairment is a direct result of exposure to specific working conditions may be eligible to claim compensation against their employer or former employer.

What should you do if an accident occurs in the workplace?

1. Contact our solicitor

Our workplace injury solicitors are experts in advising clients on how to make these claims. Many people use a solicitor to aid with this application process as a lot of paperwork and filing are required, and our expert team is on hand to make the process as smooth as possible.

2. The PIAB Application

The next step is applying to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB). If your personal injury claim concerns anything other than medical negligence, some assaults, and some cases of entirely psychological injury, then your claim can be brought through PIAB. Examples of claims that PIAB covers include:

• Workplace injury
• Road traffic accidents
• Catastrophic injury
• Accidents in public places

3. Submitting information and documents to PIAB

Your solicitor will be able to obtain evidence, medical reports, and other expert reports required. And submits these documents to the Board for Assessment.

4. Consent to assess the claim

Once the application is made, PIAB formally notified the defendant(s) of the claim. The defendant(s) must indicate within 90 days whether or not they consent to the claim assessment. If the defendant consents, then PIAB will proceed to assess the claim. If they decline to have the case evaluated, the PIAB will issue an Authorisation to allow the claimant to issue court proceedings.

5. Claim assessment time

If PIAB is assessing the claim, this will usually take about 9 months. They will then issue their Assessment of your claim. This amount reflects general and special damages awarded concerning your claim. If both parties accept the Assessment, the PIAB will issue an Order to Pay. The Order to Pay has the same status as an Order of the Court and must be discharged by the defendant(s) within 10 days. A settlement cheque will then be issued to the claimant. If either party rejects the Assessment, PIAB will grant an Authorisation to bring court proceedings.

Statute of Limitations

Under the Statute of Limitations Act 1957, a claim must be brought within two years of

• The date of the noise exposure that caused the hearing loss or
• The date of discovering a hearing loss linked to noise exposure. This is known as the date of knowledge.

The date of knowledge is when a claimant may reasonably have been expected to realise that they have a hearing loss due to their working conditions. It is usually the date of diagnosis made by a healthcare professional, but not always. An audiologist report can be procured if a claimant has not been officially diagnosed with a hearing impairment directly resulting from exposure in their workplace environment. This report will indicate whether the hearing loss is linked to working conditions or other degenerative factors like age. Compensation may arise when the report establishes a causal link between the resulting hearing loss and the employee’s working conditions.

Employer’s duty of care

Employers owe a duty of care to their employees to ensure that they do not suffer any injury reasonably within the employer’s ability to avoid and protect against. The scope of the duty of care, at common law, is generally assessed under the following headings;

• The provision of competent staff
• The provision of a safe place of work
• The provision of proper equipment
• The provision of a safe system of work

Furthermore, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 sets out some obligations on employers and employees in the workplace. It imposes a duty on employers to do everything reasonably practicable to ensure their employees’ safety, welfare, and health. “Reasonably practicable” has been interpreted to mean that an employer has exercised all due care by putting in place the necessary protective and preventative measures, having identified the hazards and assessed the risks to safety and health…at the place of work. Employers working in environments where employees are exposed to loud noise on a persistent or repetitive basis really ought to ensure that the following safety measures/systems of work are in place;

• Quieter machinery
• Installation of sound barriers and absorbent materials
• Shorter working periods or reduction of exposure to loud noise
• Providing personal protective equipment (PPE), such as earplugs, to workers at risk of noise exposure.

Failure to ensure that employees are adequately protected in the workplace and to do all that is reasonably expected of them to ensure that workers do not sustain injuries may leave employers liable for any damage or loss due to inadequate work systems.

Our team

If you have experienced injury or an accident in the workplace and have questions about it, please get in touch with our workplace injury solicitors at Coleman Legal to find out if you have a potential legal action against your employer. Our dedicated team has a collective experience of over 30 years, and we are ready to help you with your claim. If you want to take legal action over an injury, you should consult our accidents in the workplace solicitors, who are members of the Law Society’s injury accreditation scheme and clinical negligence accreditation scheme. Contact Rose Sweeney or Philip Treacy by email or by phone at 1800-844-104 to see how we can help you with your workplace injury or accident.

Coleman Legal LLP

Solicitors
84 Talbot Street, Dublin 1
D01 YX60

Contact details

Free Phone: 1800-844-104
Fax: (01) 5312727
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.colemanlegal.ie
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