A REDDITCH manufacturer has vowed to resist “ambulance chasing” law firms after winning a two-day hearing at Telford County Court that saw a claim for noise induced hearing loss dismissed.
Heartbeat Manufacturing Co Ltd was sued by a former employee who worked for the company for 42 years.
His claim, which stated he had first noticed hearing loss in 2013 following his retirement from Heartbeat in 2009, was dismissed by the judge on the grounds it was out of time.
Heartbeat chairman Dave Stubbings said the former employee had attempted to claim damages from the company for noise induced hearing loss, despite the fact the company had regular surveys undertaken by SEGTA, the Spring Engineering Group Training Association, to advise it on all aspects of health and safety, including potential damage to employees’ hearing from noise.
The Arthur Street business was established in 1946 by Audrey and Walter Kingsley Stubbings and has just celebrated 70 years since it was founded.
At the time relevant to the claim, Heartbeat was one of Redditch’s foremost spring manufacturers and now provides retail installations and shop fitting.
Mr Stubbings said: “It was important to us to win this case as we have always operated with the best interests of our employees at heart. We currently employ over 100 staff directly with up to 100 agency staff working with us at peak periods.
“We therefore wanted to put on record our commitment to health and safety and that we would never knowingly expose any of our staff to any health risk whatsoever,” he said.
And he was scathing in his condemnation of so-called “no win, no fee” law firms that encouraged what he described as a “damaging claims culture”.
“We are delighted with the verdict and that justice has been done.
“Like many other companies in the UK, we are totally opposed to the growing practice of ex-employees attempting to claim compensation for injuries they allege they suffered as a result of their former employment.”
He said Heartbeat would continue to resist spurious claims encouraged by the “no win, no fee” culture. “It is our company policy to oppose this at every opportunity” he said.
