By Gemma Bradley, Hampson Hughes Solicitors Industrial Disease Team

In 1997 the government assumed liability for a breach of duty for non-compliance with legislation after failing to provide adequate protection to the British miners, causing noise induced hearing loss and tinnitus.

The National Coal Board (NCB) was the body created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the UK. It was created under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946 and took control of the mines on 1 January 1947.

The NCB became the largest single employer in the UK. At its peak, it operated close to 1000 deep mines and employed almost 850,000 workers with almost 110,000 of these workers being from South Wales.

The coal collieries were situated all over the UK including Yorkshire, Durham, Adlington, Chorley and Cheshire as well as many regions in Wales such as Gwent, Glamorgan, Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Powys and Pembrokeshire.

In January 2008, the South Wales Valleys last deep pit mine, Tower Colliery in Hirwaun, Rhondda Cynon Taff closed with the loss of 120 jobs. The coal was exhausted. However, coal is still mined at a number of deep pits in the Midlands and the North, and is extracted at several very large opencast pits in South Wales and elsewhere.

Coal mining is a notoriously dangerous occupation. In order to extract the coal, miners would have to operate various types of heavy machinery including drills and windy picks. Many workers would often have to use explosives.

While working in these conditions, the National Coal Board had a duty of care to provide the miners with adequate hearing protection. As a result of their failure to do this, many of the miners have been diagnosed with Noise Induced Hearing Loss and/or Tinnitus. In fact, recent statistics show that of coal miners, 90% will have a hearing impairment by age 52 compared to 9% of the general population.

Noise Induced Hearing Loss occurs when an individual is subjected to loud noise over a long period of time. Over time, a person’s hearing will gradually deteriorate and the symptoms of hearing loss will increase. Someone with NIHL may not even be aware of the loss, but it can be detected with a hearing test. Tinnitus is the medical name for the perception of noise in one ear, both ears or in their head. People with tinnitus can experience different types of sound. Most people describe it as a ringing sound but other sounds may include: buzzing, humming and whistling. Long or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss/tinnitus.

According to government statistics, there has so far been 33500 successful claims for NIHL against the National Coal Board.

If you believe you are suffering with Noise Induced Hearing Loss after working for the National Coal Board, please do not hesitate to contact our experienced Industrial Disease Team.

Hampson Hughes Solicitors has already brought successful claims against the company and can give you further advice about making a claim. Contact us today on 0800 888 6888 or email

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