Ford workers 'needed hearing aids ten years early' (From Daily Echo)

Ford workers 'needed hearing aids ten years early'

12:00pm Thursday 8th November 2007 in News By Chris Semple

NOISE levels at Ford's Transit factory in Southampton were so bad that two workers need hearing aids ten years earlier than they otherwise would have, a court heard.

Hearing expert John Carruth made the claim after testing Anthony Coffin, 52 and David Tarrant, 63, who both worked at the plant in Swaythling.

The evidence came on the second day of a test case in which the two employees are suing the motor giant, demanding the company pay for their state-of-the-art hearing aids.

If they are successful it could cost the motoring manufacturer up to £1m claims from the Southampton factory's employees alone.

It could also open the way for thousands of other employees around the UK to take action against their employers if they can prove their working conditions ruined their hearing.

Yesterday, at Winchester County Court, Mr Carruth, who works at Southampton's private Bupa hospital, told the court his examination of the two claimants in the trial, Andrew Coffin and David Tarrant, had shown both men needed hearing aids.

My opinion at that time, having done the calculations, was that the need for hearing aids had been advanced by about ten years.

John Carruth, hearing expert

Ford has already admitted the noise at the factory caused part of the men's hearing loss, but says that age and other factors caused the rest.

The company is arguing that because they are not responsible for all the loss, they should not have to pay the full cost of the hearing aids.

The aids in question cost more than £400 a year, with a life span of between five to seven years.

So if the claimants can prove the loss attributable to Ford is ten years, it will mean the company has to pay out up to £4,000 per ear per man.

There are understood to be up to 100 other cases pending against Ford from their Southampton site.

Questioned by the claimants' barrister, Theodore Huckle, how he knew the noise from the factory had increased the men's need for hearing aids by ten years, Mr Carruth said he had tested Mr Coffin, from Totton and Mr Tarrant, from Millbrook, Southampton, who are both married with children, against accepted "norms" for people their age.

He said the difference then showed how much damage had been done and at what frequency.

He later told the court: "My opinion at that time, having done the calculations, was that the need for hearing aids had been advanced by about ten years."

However Ford's barrister, John Williams, criticised Mr Carruth for arriving at the ten-year prediction, noting that in an initial report drawn up with Ford's own expert, both experts had said there was no way to predict how much earlier someone would need a hearing aid.

Asked why he had then changed his mind but had failed to correct the initial report, Mr Carruth said: "It was a careless omission."

Proceeding