Exclusive: 3 sue BBC orchestras for hearing loss
OrchestrasWe understand that there are currently three live cases of litigation by musicians for hearing related damage in BBC orchestras.
One is being contested by the BBC, the others are in negotiation.
The players say the BBC has neglected the issue and that the five BBC orchestras have only one Casela meter between them.
This could prove a massive headache for the BBC. The last such case that came to court cost Covent Garden £750,000 ($1m) in punitive damages.
Punitive damages are not awarded in personal injury cases of this sort. The case went to the Court of Appeal on liability, with damages to be assessed later. There was publicity about the amount claimed by the claimant, Christopher Goldscheider, a viola player, saying that he wanted £750,000 for lost earnings. I don’t think anyone knows if he got that much. That said, he was 45 at the time, so 20-30 years of lost income is going to be a lot of money.
You can find the CA decision here: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2019/711.html
I’m surprised there isn’t more of this litigation.
The hearing danger needs to be recognized at the earliest levels.
If it does, it won’t stop at orchestra players. It’s going to affect every pop music venue as well — from theaters to rock music clubs. Once litigation on this front starts, it’s the proverbial slippery slope, and both players and audience members are going to try to get in on the action.
No doubt each of these wonderful musicians had professionally made and properly fitted hearing protection.
Earplugs are the perfect solution for management. Here you go, here are your professional earplugs, we are no longer responsible. There are two main problems. The earplugs basically prevent musicians from hearing themselves and each other. Especially the wind players. In my orchestra, the musicians all received earplugs and nobody uses them. The second problem is that they don’t protect enough. The levels of sound can literally be deafening, and we are talking about being subjected to these levels year after year, decade after decade. You don’t see airport workers wearing earplugs, they wear ear protection. That might be a solution, but would impede the musicians’ hearing, and look horrible. Managements need to constantly change the seating so that the same people are not always in front of the timpani, trumpets, trombones etc.
It’s very simple really:
There has long been, and continues to be, a culture of sneering at musicians’ health and safety concerns by managements despite the statutory obligations they should respect.
They gamble that the odd personal injury claim is worth feilding quietly, and that Goldscheider Vs ROH was a once in a blue moon occurrence.
Musicians are treated as dispensable’, replaceable commodities that sacrifice all for the devotion to their art. Modern employment law presides in a parallel universe.