The High Court has awarded £25,000 damages to a former trumpet player with a Defence Forces band. Mr Michael Gallagher claimed he sustained a serious hearing problem through exposure for long periods to excessive noise when the band was playing.
Mr Gallagher (56), joined the Defence Forces as a teenager in 1958. Later promoted to sergeant, he accepted voluntary redundancy in 1996. He played the trumpet with the Southern Command Army Band based at Collins Barracks, Cork.
In his action against the Minister for Defence and the State, Mr Gallagher, of Willmount Park, Cobh, Co Cork, claimed that it was part of his duty to practise in the Army band room at Collins Barracks for continuous periods during his working day.
He submitted there had been negligence by the Minister for Defence and the State.
