Royal Opera loses its appeal

Noise control will not restrict repertoire, says Court of Appeal in Goldscheider v Royal Opera House

Summary:

The Royal Opera House (ROH) has lost its appeal¹ against a decision of the High Court, which said the organisation was liable for permanent hearing damage suffered by a member of its in-house orchestra²,³. The ROH had failed to control employees’ exposure to noise as stipulated by the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 (Noise Regulations), and there was a causal link between this breach and injuries suffered by the claimant. Christopher Goldscheider was a viola player at the ROH. He claimed his hearing had been damaged as a result of ‘acoustic shock^’4 owing to the high noise levels he was exposed to during a rehearsal of Wagner’s Die Walküre in 2012. The injury had ended his career.….

John Ballard is editor of Occupational Health [at Work].

Author: Ballard J

Tags case law hearing law noise

Occupational Health at Work June/July 2019 (vol. 16/1) pp12-15

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