Acoustic Shock – a landmark ruling

Earlier this year a High Court ruling found that The Royal Opera House breached its H&S duties following a performer suffering acoustic shock during a rehearsal. This has set quite a precedent as it’s the first case to award acoustic shock and will likely create more spotlight on this from HSE perspective.

In this case there were attempts from The Royal Opera House to differentiate themselves from other industries which was disregarded by the judge. It’s a crucial reminder to duty holders of the need to assess and manage noise risks within the workplace, in particular sudden and loud noise emitted through earpieces.

Key questions that duty holders must ask themselves are:

More about this case at SHPOnline – click here