Insurer Zurich has backed a Supreme Court judgment overturning the Court of Appeal decision in Baker v Quantum Group Clothing.
The Supreme Court ruled against the earlier judgment which made employers liable for noise induced deafness caused by noise above 85 decibels from 1978 onwards.
The Court of Appeal had ruled that employers would be liable for deafness caused by long-term exposure to noise above 85 decibels, despite the fact that the Noise at Work Regulations 1989, which came into affect at 1990, was the first regulation to recognise the potential affect of exposure to noise below 90 decibels.
Zurich, the insurer of Quantum Clothing said in a statement: “This successful Supreme Court appeal marks the end of a long journey rooted in establishing a key point of principle with regards to these claims – the majority of which were ‘farmed’ low level deafness claims against Zurich policyholders.
“The Supreme Court has now endorsed the High Court’s decision, reversing the Court of Appeal’s decision and restoring the standards long thought to have applied to employers. Any other decision would have had widespread implications across industry generally not only in relation to noise but other exposures where standards of acceptance have changed over the years. This ruling now provides certainty for both employers and insurers.
“Zurich welcomes the Supreme Court decision as a “victory for common sense” and will continue to maintain a robust approach to unjustified noise induced hearing loss claims in the future.”
The court wrangle, initially involved seven test cases, where workers at a knitting company were exposed to noise of around 85 decibels for a prolonged period of time. In Baker, the respondent had been exposed to the noise for around 18 years.
Source: PostOnline
