A TEACHER who suffered vocal cord damage after being forced to raise her voice to be heard in class has been awarded a six-figure payout.
English teacher Joyce Walters developed nodules on her vocal cords which she said were caused by having to speak loudly over noise outside her classroom.
After the nodules were discovered through surgery, she underwent months of speech therapy.
But she claims the damage she suffered working at Harlington Adult Education Centre, in Hillingdon, north west London, means she can still only speak for a short period before her throat becomes sore and her voice becomes hoarse.
It emerged yesterday that the 50-year-old has now received £156,000 in two out-of-cour t settlements agreed with her employers, Hillingdon Council.
It is thought to be one of the biggest payouts received by a teacher.
She said: "I even have to think twice about day-to-day things, like speaking on the phone to my dad in Scotland as my voice is not strong enough to maintain a conversation for any length of time.
"Teaching was my calling. I adored the classroom and miss it so much but the problems with my voice make it impossible for me to ever go back."
The mother-of-two started work at the adult education centre, which is housed in Harlington Community School and run by Hillingdon Council, in 2005 as an English teacher to foreign students.
She said that within a month, she had symptoms of a sore throat, which got progressively worse.
She was given a classroom next to a schoolchildren's playground.
Due to disrupt ion and noise at playtimes, she said she often had to repeat herself and raise her voice.
Because many of her students were beginners, she said clarity of pronunciation was vital and due to the noise, students often had to ask her to repeat herself.
Mrs Walters said she had asked council education bosses for help, but they did not do enough to make it easier for her to do her job.
She took Hillingdon Council to a disability discrimination employment tribunal and was first awarded an out-of-court settlement of £11,000.
After then filing a separate personal injury claim, a second settlement of £145,000 was agreed in July this year.
Joanne Jefferies, an expert in workplace injuries at law firm Irwin Mitchell, said: "Despite numerous attempts to raise her concerns with her employer, Mrs Walters was ignored and it has resulted in this terrible, life-altering injury for which she is owed a big apology."
Jean Palmer, director of planning, envi ronment and communit y services for Hillingdon Council, said: "After a period of almost three years, the council felt that it was in the best interests of Mrs Walters, the council and taxpayers to settle the claims.
"Mrs Walters had brought employment claims and separate personal injury claims against the council and had agreed to settle her employment claims last year without any admission of liability on the part of the council.
"The more recent settlement was made out of court and brings a close to the claims made by Joyce Walters."
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