Vibration White Finger Injury Compensation UK

Sources of VWF

Vibration White Finger is an industrial injury that now affects thousands of the UK’s industrial work-force. Exposure of the hand to severe vibration transmitted from a handheld tool or piece of equipment is the major cause of VWF. Some of the main industries of exposure to vibratory tools include the following;

• Use of handheld chainsaws in forestry.
• Use of handheld rotary tools in grinding or in the sanding or polishing of metal.
• Use of handheld percussive metalworking tools in riveting, corking, chipping, hammering and fettling.
• Use of handheld powered percussive drills or hammers in mining, quarrying, demolition or on roads and footbaths, this includes road construction.
• Holding of material being worked upon by pounding machines in textiles manufacture.

The risks associated with Vibration

The risk of injury from exposure to vibration depends on the a number of factors including;

• The intensity or power of the tool in hand. Some handheld vibratory tools are of course more powerful than others. The vibration magnitudes of a Rock Drill or Jack Hammer have massive vibration magnitudes of around 20m/sec2. In contrast a Rotary drill or a handheld grinder may have considerably less vibration magnitudes of around 3/4m/sec2. There is no clear safe or unsafe dose of vibration, as some people are more susceptible than others.
• The frequency or amount of times that the handheld tool is used can be an important factor in the development of Vibration White Finger. A worker that uses a vibratory tool everyday for 10 years is more likely to develop VWF than somebody that is a keen DIY’er and uses a handheld grinder once a month simply due to the frequency of exposure.
• The duration of exposure to vibratory tools is considered on a daily basis, the 1994 Health and Safety guidance document cites that over the course of an 8 hour day, the safe amount of vibratory exposure is 2.8m/sec2. If an industrial employee works more than 8 hours or works with an extremely powerful vibratory tool then an employer would be in breach of this safety guideline.

Tools capable of causing vibration damage

There are a number of tools that are capable of causing VWF; they include some of the following;

• Jack hammer
• Rock drill
• Chisel scaler
• Road breaker
• Chipping hammer
• Riveting Hammer
• Disc sander
• Handheld grinder
• Rotary drill

If you have ever worked with any of the above tools and have started to experience problems with your hands or fingers contact us today to see if you are eligible to make a claim for compensation for your injuries.

Vibration White Finger Symptoms

There are a number of common symptoms that are associated with VWF. They may include the following;

• Tingling and numbness in fingers
• Loss of grip sensation
• Whiteness and blanching
• Accelerated symptoms in cold weather

If you are currently experiencing any of these symptoms and would like to speak with one of our team to see if you are eligible to make a claim call us on 020 7836 5999 or fill out an online enquiry form by clicking here now.

Our expertise can save you time and stress

With many years of experience in dealing with vibration white finger claims, we understand the legal issues but more importantly the human issues involved in making a claim for your injuries. We work with fully qualified, specialist industrial injury solicitors across the UK that have years of experience in dealing with industrial injury compensation claims. We believe that is it a clients right as an accident victim to be dealt with by honest and trustworthy professionals that know the inside out so that your claim for compensation runs as smoothly as possible.

I think I can make a claim – What next?

If you would like to see if you are eligible to make a claim for compensation for your injury and losses resulting from an industrial injury, call our dedicated team today on 020 7836 5999, alternatively you can fill out an online enquiry form by clicking here, either way, we are here to help you.