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A Rolls Royce employee who believes he was exposed to dangerous levels of noise in the workplace has been compensated following help from his union’s solicitors.
Alan Richardson, 58, from Seaham in County Durham has received £6,000 in damages after the famous car manufacturer settled his claim without any admission of liability.
Alan joined the firm in 1965 when he was just 15 and first began to notice problems with his hearing in 2006 after his wife said he was ignoring people while on holiday.
Compensation awarded for industrial deafness
It was later confirmed that he had hearing difficulties and he now has to wear hearing aids in both ears.
He contacted his union target="_blank" title="Unite">Unite which instructed its lawyers Thompsons Solicitors to claim compensation.
Rolls Royce settled out of court.
Workers should demand protection for their ears
Mr Richardson said: “By claiming compensation I wanted to warn others to demand adequate protection for their ears when in noisy environments. You do not realise how much your life can be affected by loss of hearing until it happens to you.”
Davey Hall regional secretary for Unite in the North East said: “Many of our members suffer from hearing loss as a result of being exposed to excessive noise levels in the workplace. We provide our members with free legal advice to help them gain compensation which can help pay for private hearing aids and treatment.”
Nicola Waugh from Thompsons Solicitors added: “In many cases where factory workers have loss of hearing it is due to the excessive noise levels on the factory floor. It is important those diagnosed with hearing loss investigate its causes.”