The High Court has ruled that noise induced Hearing Loss should be treated as an occupational disease rather than an Injury at work after a challenge by Employers Liability Insurers.
The Insurer's stance was criticised by the Court who confirmed that occupational deafness has been "expressly defined" as a disease by legislation since 1975 and that the challenge by the insurers was an attempt to re-open (if not renege on) the Industry Agreement made in 2005 and does them little credit.
He then went on to state that the challenge by the Employers Liability Insurers was "... an opportunistic attempt to avoid part or all of the overall bargain".
If the Insurers had been successful in their challenge it could have severely hampered access to justice for thousands of claimants as Solicitors would have had to review cases where there is a higher element of risk in such detailed and complex cases as occupational deafness claims."
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