Dedicated disease

Client:  Insurer of a major textile manufacturer and its subsidiaries.

Claim/Issue: Around 500 claims were submitted to a major insurer on behalf of ex-employees in respect of noise exposure in textile factories.  Subsequently, seven test cases were brought as representative actions on behalf of several thousand claims over many years.

Weightmans’ Investigation and Action: We initially prepared a generic report after carrying out investigations, proofing witnesses, obtaining documentation from archive sites and reviewing all available information, including noise surveys.  We then established a bespoke team and advised on the best strategy to deal with these claims. 

The claimants argued that employers should have acted to protect employees exposed to noise levels over 80 dBA, or provide hearing protection, from 1963 onwards. Conventional noise thresholds were principally 90 dBA LEQ before introduction of the Noise at Work Regulations 1989.

We contested the medical evidence on the basis that, except in the clearest cases, industrial deafness was unlikely to be capable of being medically proven where noise levels were below 85 dBA. The judge accepted this key argument.

Result: All seven test cases brought before the High Court were dismissed. Had the claimants’ arguments succeeded, one major employer’s liability insurer estimated that the costs of settlement could have reached £100 million.