The dispute over a system of assessing hearing loss in "Army deafness" cases is expected to intensify with a new report challenging a State expert report on standards for assessing hearing loss.
After being told of the new report, prepared with the support of solicitors for some of the soldier plaintiffs, the High Court yesterday adjourned a number of "deafness" cases listed for hearing.
The court was told a second report, aimed at assisting the courts in assessing Army deafness actions, had been drawn up as an alternative to terms prepared by a State group.
The information was disclosed when a number of cases against the Minister for Defence were due to start. It was said that new legislation relating to assessing hearing loss claims had been signed by the President late on Monday or early yesterday.
The new legislation was brought in after an initial report, Hearing Disability Assessment, was drawn up by an expert group established by the Department of Health and Children. This became known as the "Green Book".
Lawyers in a number of cases yesterday sought a one-week adjournment to study the second report and the new legislation. Other actions listed for this week are expected to be put back.
The second expert group's report, prepared with the backing of lawyers who have represented various plaintiffs, was set up after the High Court, on April 21st last, adjourned all Army deafness cases for three weeks to enable medical experts to consider the "Green Book" contents.
It was established with a view to making recommendations which may be of assistance to the court where compensation is claimed for noise induced hearing loss and/or tinnitus.
Its members are: Mr Dermot Dougan, audiologist; Mr George Fennell, consultant ENT surgeon; Mr Stephen Flynn, consultant occupational physician; Mr William Grant, consultant ENT surgeon; Ms Jean Hegarty, audiologist; Mr Neil Keane, member of the National Association for Deaf People; Ms Maree Lynch, audiologist; Ms Judith Nugent, audiologist; Mr Patrick O'Meara, consultant ENT surgeon; Mr Brendan O'Shea, general practitioner/occupational medicine physician; Mr Howard Savage Jones, consultant ENT surgeon; and Ms Jean Scott, tinnitus sufferer.
The new group's report states that the consensus of the Minister's expert group could not be accepted as an objective assessment of disability.
It says the Minister's expert group could not be described as fully representative in an open process; that it had produced a system of assessment which was not broadly applicable and which did not reflect the full impact of noise damage and noise induced hearing loss; and that the critical issues of tinnitus and age-related changes were unsatisfactorily managed.
Expressing concern about the composition of the Minister's expert group, the new group said no member of the Minister's group was in fact a practising occupational medicine physician engaged in day-to-day practice of industrial medicine, nor was any member selected on the basis of being an actual patient with hearing loss or tinnitus.
It also says there was no representation from the disciplines of primary care (general practice), psychology or psychiatry, all of which were associated disciplines highly relevant to the proper multidisciplinary assessment of noise-induced injury.
The new report claims there were areas in the first report which were inaccurate. If enacted to the full, it would result in unfair discrimination against many of those suffering hearing loss.
Mr Justice Lavan granted an adjournment of the cases listed for hearing yesterday. He is to hear applications for adjournments of other actions today.