Teacher awarded £150,000 for losing her voice talking loudly in class

The payout is believed to be the biggest of its kind and could trigger a flood of similar claims.

Joyce Walters quit after developing vocal cord nodules she says were caused by constantly raising her voice and repeating herself over the din from a nearby children's play area.

The condition means she finds it difficult to speak on the phone for long and suffers hoarseness and sore throat if she has to raise her voice to be heard in noisy bars or parties.

Mrs Walters, 50, from Ickenham, said: "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."

She taught English at the Harlington Adult Education Centre in Harlington Community School run by Hillingdon council. She said the noise from the play area combined with the fact she had too many students in her class, damaged her voice.

She added: "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."

She said: "As a result of the noise and disruption I often had to repeat myself and raise my voice very significantly while teaching. This was exacerbated as clarity of pronunciation, particularly for English language students at beginner level, is extremely important and students often had to ask me to repeat myself."

Mrs Walters a mother of two, said her employers did not do enough to help her. She was asked to teach more students and was not allowed to stop teaching beginners' classes, which she said are more vocally demanding.

Mrs Walters took Hillingdon council to an employment tribunal and was awarded £11,000 out of court. She also filed a personal injury claim against the council and a £145,000 out of court settlement was agreed. Her lawyers said she now deserves an apology from the council. Joanne Jefferies, specialist 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.

"To make matters worse she is still awaiting assurances that something has been done to prevent others suffering. Hillingdon council have since accepted that they failed to safeguard the health and safety of their employees. What makes this case so sad is that this could have been avoided."

Jean Palmer of Hillingdon council, said: "After almost three years the council felt that it was in the best interests of Mrs Walters, the council and taxpayers to settle the claims.

£280,000 after boy jumps on teacher's back

* The biggest payout last year was almost £280,000. It was won by a teacher after a 13-year-old boy jumped on her back. The teacher fell over and injured her back and head. She retired on health grounds a year later.

* A teacher at St Helens, Merseyside, received £80,000 after slipping in mud while walking between school buildings. She injured her hip and back and retired on health grounds.

* A music teacher from south-west England got £40,000 when a door blew shut on a windy day — resulting in a "crush injury" to her wrist.