Textile firms are held liable for hearing loss

A landmark Court of Appeal judgment on noise may open the way for more compensation claims. The Court held in May that textile firms were liable under the Factories Act 1961 for damage to a worker’s hearing sustained from January 1978. The judge said that as early as 1973, employers should have measured noise levels in their workshops.

The judgment is significant because it held the textile companies responsible for hearing loss due to noise at lower levels than those generally recognised as giving rise to liability.