Concert Causing Tinnitus, Has Anyone Here Won a Lawsuit?

I'm considering finding an attorney to file a lawsuit.

Has anyone here had success suing bands, promoters, venues?

I have read a few articles that I found online about a couple who won a case against Whitesnake.

The rest of the cases I've read about didn't state wether or not they were successful in court. Maybe because they were settled out of court? Otherwise I think there would be an update on them winning or losing.

Looking for advice on this.

Thank you!

 

I think we all know concerts, cinemas, theatres and bands can be very loud. Perhaps people need to be responsible for themselves.

 

In order to win a legal battle, two criteria come into play

1) the law must have been broken.
2) the action of the offending party must be proven to be the cause of your suffering.

Since noise safety when it comes to concerts is unregulated (except in Switzerland, I believe), you cannot win a legal battle because "nobody did anything wrong"....! And even if there was regulation on the legal area, proving that a specific concert was the cause of your tinnitus (= your suffering) is more or less impossible. Forget it...

Your frustration and anger should be directed at the politicians and health representatives who are advised by doctors on certain areas of public health. It is the doctors who have failed you for not recognizing the importance of noise pollution. Handing out earplugs along with entrance tickets to a concert would be such a simple and cost effective step that could be implemented with immediate effect. But even such a simple step is beyond the capabilities of a doctor. Apparently...

Lastly, it is not forbidden to use common sense in everyday matters. Attending a concert = raping your (own) ears. See sample of stereocilia below.



And here is a celebrity who "gets it..."

 

I agree with the overall point you are making ie. "self-responsibility".

However... even if people should be capable of thinking for themselves, we must not forget that some of the events you mention (eg. cinemas) are attended by children as well as adults. There is no way a 6 year old child can be expected to know about noise damage and tinnitus. Which is why regulation on noise pollution is so important. It is the job of health officials to protect the public from harm. And that is a job at which they are not very good at.

I also believe that concerts belong to one category and all other events belong to another. By this, I mean that going to the movies should be safe. A person should be able to do such a thing without having to worry about the consequences. To me, a concert is different. Here the person is taking a risk. It's a bit like going for a roller coaster ride as compared to doing sky diving. People have an expectation that they can do the former without any fear of consequences. And rightly so.

 

Eh, trying to file a lawsuit and win something might be challenging and not at all fulfilling. But I do agree, places that the public goes to (especially places were children go) need to tone it down a bit. I went to a movie theater to see Captain America and I had never been to this theater before and the noise level was way beyond what it should have been. Mind you, most theaters were loud but this one was excruciating, and from what I've heard it's starting to become the norm. I think there should be a limit placed on how loud they can run movies in theaters, especially since some people bring their children who have sensitive and developing ears there to see movies.

 

This thread isn't supposed to be about personal responsibility or speculation.

The topic is if anyone here or if anyone knows of anyone who has won a lawsuit in regard to going to a concert and having their hearing permanently damaged.

Here's a link to the lawsuit against Whitesnake. Settled for $40,000.
http://www.pollstar.com/news_article.aspx?ID=730301

I'd appreciate it if we can stay on topic.

Thank you!

 

Yeah you're right. Cinema was a bad example. I actually would protect my ears at a cinema now. But that's only because of tinnitus I'm aware of the dangers. Point taken, bad example.

 

With all due respect, this is just silly. Take responsibility for your actions. You went to a loud concert and you want to sue for damages because you got tinnitus?

You know concerts are loud, but you went anyway. You assumed the risk.

Look in the mirror. The sooner you accept that you have T the better. Don't waste your energy trying to blame someone else.

 

Hiya @earsnothappy

I have never heard of anyone winning a court case of that kind. Sorry. I think it would be quite difficult to win one. It would depend on who you were suing - the band? The venue? If you could prove that there were too many speakers/speakers in the wrong place, then perhaps. But to be honest I don't think the chances of winning would be very great. What would your argument be? Concerts consist of loud music - I think the court would simply say "There is loud music at a concert. Of course you could damage your ears" etc.

You could argue that tinnitus is not well-known and if you HAD known about it you wouldn't have gone. I certainly hadn't known about tinnitus before I got it, and would have been more careful about loud music (though my T does not seem to be caused by noise). I do believe that when you go to a concert the band members should warn people about tinnitus/hearing loss and give people five-ten minutes to get the free earplugs they would hand out. And I agree with the above comments that cinemas, restaurants etc are too loud (why on earth do we even need music playing in restaurants? Admittedly it is usually not too loud but some places play music really loudly and it seems so stupid) and that we should be lowering the volume. But the point of a concert is to go and listen to the music, and in all fairness once you search for tinnitus you do find a lot of information about it. Unfortunately by that point it is usually too late.

I think suing would be a great way to educate the public and spread the word about T, but like I said before, your chances of winning don't sound great to be. It might be worth speaking with an attorney to ask for their opinion.

 

It is all about freedoms. Why would you want people to know what harms them?

 

To be honest I doubt youll get very far,there was that case of that woman who attended a Justin Bieber concert with her daughter,she was there to look after her daughter and not for the gig itself,Justin suposedly asked the crowd to scream as loud as they could and of course they did and this actually ended up damageing the womans hearing leaving her with T.That was negligent on Justin and the promoters part making excess noise for unnecesary reasons and to ad this woman wasnt even there for the concert.She decided to file a lawsuit against Justin and the promoters and even though it appears the chances were in her favour she didnt receive a penny.

 

Don't sure the location of the kid. I believe if she is close to the speakers she harmed. Why bring a young child to a concert? Please stop posting the pictures of cell damage. It scares me.

 

This celebrity should "get it..." more than most because Gwyneth Paltrow's husband Chris Martin (lead singer of the band Coldplay, who she is watching in the picture)has recently admitted to the media he has had tinnitus for the past decade, people who are around family/friends with tinnitus are more "clued up" on the condition.

I like the majority didn't even know what tinnitus was until I acquired it through loud noise exposure, but as a result my family are more aware of the risks of loud noise apart from the usual "loud noise causes hearing loss."

 

I will ask again.

Has anyone here or does anyone know of anyone who has won a lawsuit in regard to going to a concert and having their hearing permanently damaged?

If you don't, please, please don't add your opinion. If you must add your opinion, please keep it in the direction of winning a lawsuit and what it may take to do so.

If you want to discuss all this other topics, please start a new thread.

Thank you!

 

@earsnothappy If you Google 'lawsuit for tinnitus' you will find a lot of information

 

I've done a lot of googling...as well as other research.

I'm hoping to find someone here that has gone through it and could offer advice.

Thank you!

 

For a lawsuit - at least in the US (I don't know where you are):

You were owed a duty of care by the concert venue/band/city.
Negligence on one or more of the part of concert venue/band/city, etc. for that duty of care.
You suffered an injury.
The negligence was the proximate cause of your injury.
That you, as the concert goer, did not consent, waive, assume the risk, or otherwise contribute to your injury (good luck, who doesn't know concerts are bad for hearing?)

Yes, you can find an attorney that will represent you, I am sure. It will cost you money. You will concentrate on how you were "wronged." You will get emotionally vested in the case. You will very likely lose the case, and you will be despondent and angry. You will then be more depressed about your tinnitus.

By the way, if you are hoping for a settlement, you won't retire off one, and your attorney will take a good chunk of it. If by some miracle the other side is represented by lousy attorneys and you get a settlement, you might be able to buy a car with what's left over. And that's pushing it.

Good luck.

 

The plaintiff later won on appeal:
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ny-supreme-court/1307425.html

This lawsuit was ultimately dismissed: http://www.bsherman.net/hearingloss.htm

http://www.mtv.com/news/1265/news-flash-judge-awards-u2-fan-34000-over-hearing-loss/

 

Thank you @pef and @kharaa !

If anyone else has any helpful information, it'd be greatly appreciated!

 

It must be possible to sue those who produce these tinnitus generating and illegal sound levels!If there is a
law suit, the problem would have been taken more seriously,I think,because all that costs money, you know...

 

As @attheedgeofscience said, there are no 'illegal sound levels' according to the US law, from what I've understood.

I haven't fully looked into it, so this might not be 100% accurate... but in The Netherlands most major concert halls have voluntarily cooperated and signed a contract that limits the volume to 103dB and says they have to sell/provide earplugs, among other things. I've been to some of these venues, and the difference is remarkable and wonderful
That said, in the smaller rock 'n roll-clubs, concerts can still be a combination of music and a windy day at the beach.

I'm not sure if this creates the opportunity to sue, as it's not a law, but a contract between a venue and the government. Also, these venues are helping our cause by voluntarily signing this contract. Suing might not be the best thing to do. And initiatives like thing may eventually lead to actual law.

If you're going to sue a band, I think that the best likely result is to settle out of court. The band might be legally right, but they may settle to avoid negative publicity. Not that I'm an expert on these things...

I hope this was useful in any way.