01-08-2008
Personal injury specialists win £10 million compensation for deafness clients
Personal injury specialists at BPE Solicitors have secured £10 million in compensation for factory workers in Oxfordshire who have been left with partial deafness after years of working in noisy conditions.
Pete Lodge, industrial deafness specialist at the Cheltenham-based firm who has been representing Cowley car plant workers for the past 15 years, says that claims are still being lodged by former workers, aged between 50 – 80 years old, who were unaware that they were entitled to payments, ranging between £2,000 - £10,000.
BMW – the current owners of the Cowley plant – which inherited the old liabilities of former companies such as British Leyland and Pressed Steel – have faced the bulk of the claims, many of which date back to exposure to noise from the 1970’s.
BPE has also represented former workers from other factories, including Lucy’s in Jericho, Oxford and the Kraft factory in Banbury.
“Hearing loss is very debilitating and can creep up on people, especially when they have been subject to constant noise at work over a number of years,” said Pete Lodge, who works as part of a five-strong team of legal specialists dealing with industrial injury cases.
“We still have around 500 cases outstanding in the Oxfordshire area as many of the men affected are only just realising that their hearing problems could have been caused at work many years ago,” he added.
Pete and his team often visit Oxfordshire to meet claimants and to provide information to retired factory workers in the area.
“Although our clients are grateful for the settlements they receive they would all prefer to have no problems with their hearing,” said Pete.
Gloucestershire aero industry workers are now beginning to approach the St James’ Square firm with similar claims and the BPE team is getting close to securing compensation packages for a number of former workers.
Pete Lodge, industrial deafness specialist at the Cheltenham-based firm who has been representing Cowley car plant workers for the past 15 years, says that claims are still being lodged by former workers, aged between 50 – 80 years old, who were unaware that they were entitled to payments, ranging between £2,000 - £10,000.
BMW – the current owners of the Cowley plant – which inherited the old liabilities of former companies such as British Leyland and Pressed Steel – have faced the bulk of the claims, many of which date back to exposure to noise from the 1970’s.
BPE has also represented former workers from other factories, including Lucy’s in Jericho, Oxford and the Kraft factory in Banbury.
“Hearing loss is very debilitating and can creep up on people, especially when they have been subject to constant noise at work over a number of years,” said Pete Lodge, who works as part of a five-strong team of legal specialists dealing with industrial injury cases.
“We still have around 500 cases outstanding in the Oxfordshire area as many of the men affected are only just realising that their hearing problems could have been caused at work many years ago,” he added.
Pete and his team often visit Oxfordshire to meet claimants and to provide information to retired factory workers in the area.
“Although our clients are grateful for the settlements they receive they would all prefer to have no problems with their hearing,” said Pete.
Gloucestershire aero industry workers are now beginning to approach the St James’ Square firm with similar claims and the BPE team is getting close to securing compensation packages for a number of former workers.
