If you have suffered hearing loss in an accident, this could affect your day-to-day life. If this was caused by another party’s negligent actions, you could be eligible to make a hearing loss claim.
In this guide we look at the different types of compensation you could be awarded, and when you could be eligible to make a personal injury claim. Furthermore, we look at the different types of accidents that could lead you to suffering hearing loss.
Additionally, we examine how to start a personal injury claim for compensation, and how a solicitor from our panel could help you.
To discuss your case and ask any questions you may have about the claiming process, you can contact our advisors by:
- Calling us on 0800 408 7826.
- Complete our online form to contact us.
- Tell us what happened over our online chat.
Browse Our Guide
- How Much Compensation You Can Claim
- Am I Eligible To Claim For Hearing Loss Compensation?
- Types Of Hearing Loss You Can Claim For
- How To Start Your Hearing Damage Compensation Claim
- How Our Panel Of Solicitors Can Help You
- More Information
How Much Compensation You Can Claim
Compensation for a successful hearing loss claim may comprise two forms of damages; general damages and special damages.
General damages compensate you for your pain and suffering for both physical and psychological injuries.
Those calculating your claim for these damages may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). Within this document are compensation guidelines for various types of injuries.
We have listed some of these within the table below. However, please note that the first entry has not come from the JCG.
| Injury | Severity | Notes | Damages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple severe injuries with special damages | Severe | Multiple severe injuries with financial losses such as medical expenses and lost earnings. | Up to £250,000+ |
| Deafness/ tinnitus | Total deafness | At the lower end of the bracket, there is no tinnitus or speech deficit. | £110,750 to £133,810 |
| Total hearing loss in a single ear | If headaches, dizziness or tinnitus are present, an award may be to the top of the bracket. | £38,210 to £55,570 | |
| Partial loss of hearing and/ or tinnitus (i) | Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) and severe tinnitus. | £36,260 to £55,570 | |
| Partial loss of hearing and/ or tinnitus (ii) | Both moderate NIHL and tinnitus OR, moderate to severe NIHL or tinnitus alone. | £18,180 to £36,260 | |
| Partial loss of hearing and/ or tinnitus (iii) | Mild tinnitus plus some degree of NIHL. | £15,370 to £18,180 | |
| Partial loss of hearing and/ or tinnitus (iv) | Mild NIHL OR mild tinnitus. | Around £14,300 | |
| Partial loss of hearing and/ or tinnitus (v) | Occasional or slight tinnitus with slight NIHL. | £8,890 to £15,370 | |
| Partial loss of hearing and/ or tinnitus (vi) | Just slight tinnitus or just slight NIHL. | Up to £8,560 |
Special damages are awarded for the financial losses your injury has caused you to suffer. For example, this could include:
- Paying for hearing aids.
- A loss of earnings for time spent off work.
- Travel costs.
- Care costs.
Evidence will need to be presented of these losses to be able to claim them. For example, this could include invoices, payslips and receipts.
The Factors Considered In Your Payout
How much compensation you may be able to claim will depend on the specific factors affecting your case, such as:
- How severe was your injury?
- Did you suffer one or multiple injuries?
- What treatment has been needed?
- How long is the expected recovery period, if at all?
- What financial losses have been suffered?
Using A Compensation Calculator
In addition to referring to our table above, you could also use our compensation calculator. It works by asking you various questions, such as:
- What type of accident were you involved in?
- What injury did you suffer?
- How severe was this injury?
Our calculator also refers to the compensation guidelines listed within the JCG to give you an estimation.
To learn more about how our compensation calculator could help you with your hearing loss claim, you can contact our advisors.
Am I Eligible To Claim For Hearing Loss Compensation?
In order to have a valid hearing loss claim, you need to prove that your case meets certain eligibility requirements. These are:
- Someone owed you a duty of care.
- This duty was breached.
- This breach lead to you suffering your injury.
You are owed a duty of care by various different parties. We have set some of these out below.
In The Workplace
Per the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, your employer owes you a duty of care while you are performing your job duties. They need to take reasonable steps to help ensure your safety. For example, this could include:
- Regularly maintaining workplace equipment and machinery.
- Providing you with essential training.
- Providing you with appropriate personal protective equipment.
You could make an injury at work claim if you suffered an injury due to your employer not adhering to this duty of care.
On The Roads
Each road user has a duty of care to use the road in a way which ensures the safety of others and themselves. This includes drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians. Furthermore, all road users must adhere to the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code as part of their duty of care. Some of the rules and regulations set out within these include:
- Ensuring you drive at the speed limit.
- Not driving while intoxicated or distracted.
- Adhering to the rules of individual crossings.
You could make a road traffic accident claim if you suffered an injury due to another user of the road not adhering to their duty of care.
In Public Places
The party in control of a public space (known as the occupier) has a duty of care to ensure the reasonable safety of those visiting that space. Their duty of care is set out in The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. Steps an occupier could take to maintain their duty of care includes:
- Performing regular risk assessments.
- Responding to reported hazards in a timely manner.
- Regularly maintain public place equipment.
You could make a public liability claim if you suffered an injury due to an occupier not adhering to this duty of care.
To see whether you may have a valid hearing loss claim, you can contact our advisors.
Types Of Hearing Loss You Can Claim For
There are various different types of accidents that could lead to you suffering hearing loss. Some examples include:
- Accidents at work: Your employer fails to regularly maintain a piece of machinery at your factory job. This lead to the machine overheating and eventually exploding close to you. The sound from the explosion causes you to suffer partial hearing loss.
- Road traffic accidents: A drunk driver collides with you head-on at a junction. The sound of the air bag deploying causes you to suffer from tinnitus.
- Public place accidents: A supermarket fails to ensure an overhead hanging sign is secured properly, causing it to fall onto your head and the impact affect your hearing.
To discuss the specific circumstances of your hearing loss claim and to receive free advice, you can contact our advisors.
How To Start Your Hearing Damage Compensation Claim
If you suffered hearing loss after an accident that was not your fault, there are certain steps that you could take to help towards the personal injury claims process, such as:
Compile The Right Evidence
Firstly, it is important that you collect evidence to support your case. You will need to provide proof that the party you are claiming against was liable for your hearing loss or deafness. Examples of evidence you could gather include:
- Medical evidence of the injury you have suffered and what treatment you have needed, such as your medical records.
- Photographs of the accident scene.
- Video footage of the accident taking place.
- The contact details of anyone who witnessed your accident and could provide a statement.
One of the expert solicitors on our panel could help you with c=obtaining evidece to support your claim.
How Long Do I Have To Start My Claim?
All personal injury claims must be started within 3 years from the accident date, as stated within the Limitation Act 1980.
There are also circumstances in which this time limit is suspended.
- Where the claimant was a minor at the time of their accident, the time limit does not begin until they are eighteen.
- Where the claimant lacks the mental capacity to claim by themself the time limit does not apply. It will be reinstated if they do regain their mental capacity.
In either of these instances, whilst the time limit is not in effect a litigation friend may begin the claim on their behalf.
How Long It Can Take To See A Compensation Payout
How long your hearing loss claim will take to settle will depend on the factors of your specific case. Things that could affect the length of your claim include:
- What time of accident you were involved in.
- Whether the defendant admits liability or not.
- The severity of the injury suffered and whether you have already recovered from it or not.
- How long it takes to gather supporting evidence.
- Whether the claim needs to go to court.
If you have any questions regarding the personal injury claims process, you can contact our advisory team.
How Our Panel Of Solicitors Can Help You
We work with an expert panel of solicitors who could help you make a hearing loss claim. A solicitor from our panel could review your case and if they believe that you have a strong case, they could offer to represent your claim under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
By claiming with a No Win No Fee solicitor under this agreement, you will not have to pay for:
- Their services upfront.
- Their services as the claim progresses.
- Any completed work if the claim ends unsuccessfully.
If you win your claim for compensation, your solicitor will deduct a percentage of this as their success fee. This percentage is legally restricted. This restriction means that you will keep the bulk of your compensation.
Find out if a solicitor from our panel could help with your hearing damage compensation claim by getting in touch with our advisors today:
- You can call us now on 0800 408 7826.
- Fill in our online contact us form.
- Or, use our online chat to tell us what happened to you.
More Information
Additional guides by us:
- Learn about the manual handling injury claims process in this guide.
- Check how much compensation for a car accident you could be eligible to claim in this guide.
- See if you could claim for psychological damage after an accident that was not your fault.
Additional resources:
- Learn about hearing loss from the NHS.
- The Royal National Institute for Deaf People is a charity supporting deaf people. Find out how they could help you.
- See if you could be eligible for statutory sick pay from Gov.UK.
Thank you for reading this guide on how to make a hearing loss claim.