A UK teacher has been awarded 150,000 after she lost her voice trying to make herself heard in the classroom. Joyce Walters damaged her vocal cords straining to raise her volume above the clamour coming from a nearby playground. As a result she was forced to quit her job as an English teacher. The 50-year-old says she now struggles to speak on the phone and suffers a sore throat and hoarseness when she raises her voice in noisy bars. Walters, who taught for 12 years, won a total of 156,000 in out-of-court settlements from her council after claiming she could never teach again.
It is one of the largest payouts of its kind and an example of the growing compensation culture among injured and sacked teachers, which costs the taxpayer more than 20 million a year.
Last year another teacher was awarded 173,595 for dislocating an ankle during playground duty.