A soldier who has suffered no hearing loss but who says he has ringing in his ears has been awarded £15,000 compensation. The case was heard on Thursday in the High Court by Mr Justice McCracken. The State argued that while the soldier might have tinnitus ("ringing in the ears"), it could not be the result of hearing damage caused by his work as a soldier as he had no hearing loss. Hearing loss is measurable.
The soldier, a sergeant aged 44 who is still serving, said the tinnitus kept him from sleeping at night.
A State hearing expert said tinnitus could occur without hearing loss but noise-induced tinnitus was always accompanied by hearing loss. A hearing expert for the
soldier said there could be noise-induced tinnitus without accompanying hearing loss.
Cases being taken by soldiers are on the grounds that they have suffered noise-induced damage to their hearing. The Department of Defence is hoping judges will continue reducing the size of the awards. The average award at present is £24,000.
The Department believes that if the courts could be convinced to reduce the size of awards significantly, the number of fresh claimants would drop off.
The Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, has announced the creation of an expert group which would draft a "hearing handicap assessment system" which could then be used by the courts. He said medical experts have said "the majority of claimants do not have a hearing handicap".
He said the current system of refusing to settle selected cases would continue. "A number of cases have been dismissed by the courts and, more importantly, the overall level of quantum (award) has been reducing, particularly in the current legal term."
The Department believes it would be particularly expensive to settle cases en masse at present.
Mr Smith is to meet next week with the director general of the Incorporated Law Society, Mr Ken Murphy, to discuss how cases can be processed in a more cost-effective manner. His officials are to propose to the Law Society that, "in view of the large number of cases being handled by some solicitors", the size of the fee should be reduced.
