Industrial deafness compensation claim.

Now hear this…industrial deafness claims company fined a whopping £220,000.

If you think you might have an industrial deafness compensation claim from working in a noisy industrial environment such as a shipyard or a steelworks, then the chances are you and your family have been harassed to the point of distraction by claims companies.

The good news for personal injury solicitors like us, who do not cold call people at home, is that The Hearing Clinic is the first company handed a financial penalty by watchdogs after they were given new powers last year.

It followed hundreds of complaints from members of the public, many of whom were registered with the Telephone Preference Service, who received speculative calls about claims for noise-induced hearing loss.

The Hearing Clinic, which is based in Derby and operated under a string of different trading names, has also been made subject to restrictions and could even be closed if it breaks the rules again. It was seeking to cash in on the occupational deafness experienced by millions of workers who have been exposed to excessive noise during their working lives.

The fine came as the Ministry of Justice announced that 105 claims firms had received warnings in the past year. Claims Management Regulation head Kevin Rousell said: “The new fines mean we have greater powers to crack down on claims management companies that make nuisance calls. Companies should be in no doubt that if they break the rules then we won’t hesitate to fine them in addition to the tough action we already take.”

Let’s hope so…

Justice Minister Lord Faulks said: “The Government has taken action to help people who are having their time wasted by the unscrupulous practices of some claims firms out to make themselves a profit at others’ expense.

We welcome the new powers to levy fines and close claims companies and we recommend anyone who receives an unsolicited call about a workplace injury or illness to make a complaint to the Claims Management Regulator and, if they think they may have a claim, to contact an APIL (The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) approved personal injury solicitor.

Bonnar Accident Law operates an Industrial Disease Advice Centre at our office:

83 Graham Street, Airdrie, ML6 6DE