Noise Induced Hearing Loss Claims in Scotland

No. Dismissing you, demoting you or treating you differently for bringing a personal injury claim is unlawful. The claim is paid by your employer’s insurer, which is what the insurance exists for.

You can still claim. A company that has ceased trading, been taken over, changed its name or been dissolved altogether does not end your claim.

Employers had to hold employers’ liability insurance by law, and those policies outlive the business. We trace insurers through the Employers’ Liability Tracing Office and other historic records, and where necessary a dissolved company can be restored to the register so the claim can proceed against its insurer.

Tracing historic policies takes time and does not always succeed, so we will be straight with you about the prospects in your case. But it works often enough that it is always worth checking, and we do this work regularly in industrial disease claims.

Yes to both. Hearing protection has to suit the noise, fit properly and be enforced before it discharges your employer’s duty. Where you have a mix of age-related and noise induced hearing loss, a specialist separates the two so the work-related element is compensated.

Possibly. What matters is who controlled the working environment and who owed you a duty of care, which is not always who paid you. Agency workers, contractors and subcontractors all bring valid claims.

Yes. Where someone died having suffered hearing loss caused by their work, their executor can pursue the claim for the estate, and close family members may have claims of their own. Time limits work differently in these cases, so speak to us early.

No. The damage to the inner ear is permanent and no treatment reverses it. Hearing aids make a real difference to how well you manage day to day, and the cost of providing them for the rest of your life forms part of your claim.

No. Having been fitted with a hearing aid is useful evidence that your hearing loss has been medically recognised. You can still claim the cost of private aids where a medical expert considers them appropriate.

There is no fixed timescale. Straightforward claims settle within a year, while claims involving several former employers, dissolved companies or disputed medical evidence take longer. We give you a realistic view once we have seen your work history, and we keep you updated rather than leaving you to chase.

Yes. Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) is a state benefit paid by the Department for Work and Pensions, and occupational deafness is one of the conditions it covers. It is separate from a civil compensation claim, and claiming it does not stop you bringing an industrial deafness compensation claim against a former employer.

Eligibility depends on the degree of hearing loss assessed and on having worked a qualifying period in one of the listed noisy occupations. You apply directly to the DWP.

Benefits already paid may be taken into account when a settlement is worked out. We will explain how that applies to you.