The amnesty put in place by BT for hearing loss compensation claims is due to end. A number of current and former BT engineers have suffered hearing problems after being supplied with tone set equipment, which emitted harmful decibel levels.
Common hearing loss problems include difficulties when having conversations, not being able to hear the TV or telephone and difficulty with background noise. Some engineers have also suffered from noise and ringing in their ears known as tinnitus.
In the majority of the 2000+ cases we have worked on at Hugh James solicitors, it was the family members who were first to notice the hearing difficulties. A high number of BT engineers also attributed the hearing loss to old age and not their working environment.
The amnesty put in place by British Telecom enabled former employees to issue claims through a specialist solicitor without scrutiny against the three year limitation period. In personal injury compensation law, the three year limitation period requires that an individual or family member issue a claim against those responsible within three years of the injury taking place, or within three years of attributing the illness or injury to those responsible.
On 1 January 2013, the amnesty will end, meaning that BT will take a stricter view on the claims issued to them. This may prevent thousands of BT engineers claiming industrial disease compensation for deafness. However, many will still be able to claim.
At Hugh James our specialist BT deafness solicitors have, for many years, represented union and non union BT engineers bringing a deafness compensation claims against BT. We have represented over 2000 current and former workers, and are extremely experienced in this area of law.
