Is it possible for workers to pursue claims for an acoustic shock injury in a factory? I recently suffered an acoustic injury while operating the phone at the factory in which I work. A high-pitched noise which was fed back through my headset left me with a ringing in my ears, which I later discovered was tinnitus.
Claims for an acoustic shock injury in a factory may be possible if you can prove that someone other than yourself was responsible for your accident. In your case, this is more than likely going to be your employer. Employers – who have a duty of care towards their employees – are required by law to provide suitable equipment for their employee’s usage and to conduct tests and inspections at reasonable intervals. If the headset you were using at the time of your injury was faulty or your employer had not conducted an inspection recently, you may be entitled to pursue a claim for factory acoustic shock injury compensation.
Tinnitus, which is generally caused by a loud screeching noise being fed back through a telephone because of a connection problem, can sometimes be a long-term condition which can interfere with sleep and lead to mental and emotional stress. For most people however, it is a short-term problem, which rarely persists for longer than a few weeks.
Call workers and workers who operate phones from time to time -like you -are among those who are at the greatest risk of developing tinnitus. Fortunately, many employers now supply headsets with a built-in component that limits the amount of decibels which can be fed through a headset, dampening noises which have the potential to cause serious ear problems like tinnitus. If you believe that your employer failed to provide you with appropriate equipment, you may be entitled to pursue a claim for acoustic shock accident in factory compensation.
Because of the nature of your condition, it may be impossible to assess whether it poses a long-term risk to your health. As you have only recently been diagnosed with tinnitus, you may have to wait to find out how serious your condition is. As a consequence of the progression of the condition being difficult to predict at an early stage, claims for an acoustic shock injury in a factory may have to be delayed until the full extent of the damage becomes clear.
Even though you are not yet aware of the full extent of your injury, you should speak with a personal injury claims lawyer at the first available opportunity. Not only with a lawyer be able to tell you if you are entitled to claim for factory acoustic shock injury compensation, they will also be able to walk you through the claims process and may even be able to provide you with an estimate of how much compensation you might receive – although this may have to wait until the full extent of your injury becomes clear. It is always best to pursue claims for an acoustic shock injury in a factory with the help of an experienced personal injury claims lawyer.