Hearing Loss Claims – High Court Judge in Cardiff confirms NIHL is a disease
Noise Induced Hearing Loss is a disease which falls within section V of the former Part 45 of the CPR and claims for damages for NIHL therefore attract a 62.5% success fee if settled before trial. Such claims are not subject to section IV of Part 45.
Follow this link to the judgment: https://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ebailii%2Eorg%2Few%2Fcases%2FEWHC%2FQB%2F2015%2F616%2Ehtml&urlhash=eO6x&_t=tracking_anet
The Judge was critical of the defendant’s insurers attempt to re-open (if not renege on) the industry agreement made in 2005 which he thought did them “little credit”.
The large number of NIHL claims in which the argument about the success fee had previously been raised will have been funded by CFAs which were entered on the basis that a 62.5% success fee would be recovered. To seek to limit such success fees to 25% was “an opportunistic attempt to avoid part of the overall bargain (in relation to NIHL) whilst taking the benefit of the remainder (for example, in relation to asbestos claims, fixed at 27.5%)”.
