Vibration White Finger (HAVS)

Vibration White Finger is a disorder that forms part of a syndrome commonly known as Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS).

Vibration White Finger (VWF) is a disabling and painful disorder of the blood vessels, nerves, muscles and joints, which restricts blood supply to the fingers and hands.

For people with advanced VWF the condition is irreversible and may continue to progress even when vibration ceases.

Symptoms of Vibration White Finger

Tingling sensation or numbness in the fingertips
Cold sensation in the fingers
Discolouration of the skin - some sufferers’ fingers turn from white to blue or red.
General aches and pains in the hands, arms and fingers, caused by damage to the nerves, muscles, joints and bones. This can cause some people to have reduced strength when trying to grip an object.

Bouts of VWF are usually triggered by cold weather conditions or by touching cold objects.

Symptoms of VWF can differ significantly between individuals. While some people will have a lot of the common symptoms, others will have only a few. In more serious cases symptoms most common in the fingertips can extend up the whole length of the fingers. They can be intermittent, coming and going from time or time, or they can be permanent, which can cause problems for VBF sufferers when they try to do intricate work such as fastening buttons or picking up small objects, such as coins.

Causes of Vibration White Finger
VWF usually affects people who repeatedly use hand held vibrating machinery, such as hammer drills, pneumatic drills, chainsaws and other power tools, for a number of years.

Occupations most likely to be affected:

Forestry or Woodworking: Use of chain saws, brush cutters, hand-held or hand-fed circular saws.
Metal Industry: Use of hand-held rotary tools or grinders, as well as hand-held percussive tools for riveting, caulking, chipping, hammering, swaging or fettling. Alternatively, the holding of material being ground, or metal being sanded or polished by rotary tools.
Construction industry: Use of hand-held percussive drills or hammers.
Mining Industry: Use of hand-held percussive drills or hammers.
Quarrying: Use of hand-held percussive drills or hammers.
Demolition: Use of hand-held percussive drills or hammers.

How is Vibration White Finger caused and prevented?

It is thought that VWF is caused by the vibrations from power tools which cause minor injuries to the nerves and blood vessels in the fingers. The longer a person works with the vibrating power tool, the more minor injuries will be caused, which in time may accumulate to cause VWF.

There are certain measures you can take to try and prevent yourself developing VWF, such as giving up smoking which can reduce your peripheral blood flow.

If you have to use vibrating power tools at work, your employer has a duty to protect you and should have implemented safety measures to minimise your risk of developing VWF, such as:

Ensuring you have regular breaks from using vibrating power tools.
Providing you with anti vibration gloves.
Keeping your working environment at a reasonable temperature.
Maintaining and repairing tools where necessary.
Providing the correct tools for the type of job you are doing.
Providing training on how to hold and use the tools correctly.

What should I do now that I have developed Vibration White Finger?

If you have been working with vibrating power tools for a while and start to develop mild symptoms of VWF you should stop using the power tools, if possible, as this may prevent your mild symptoms from becoming more serious. You should also seek medical diagnosis and have VBF confirmed by your own GP.

You should then report your condition to your employer and seek legal advice from a specialist solicitor who can advise you of your rights with regards to compensation.

Personal Injury Claims for Vibration White Finger

If you have developed VWF as a result of using power tools at work, you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation. In 1976 it was recognised that vibrating power tools could cause VWF and a duty of care was placed upon employers to protect their employees from this danger. Since this time, many people have made successful claims for compensation.

One particular industry which has received thousands of claims is the coal mining industry, where vibrating power tools were used on a daily basis.

If you think any of the above apply to you, simply complete the claim form now, call 0845 6445135, or request a claim form to arrange a free consultation.

VWF Compensation

Severe, where there are frequent attacks affecting most of the fingers with atrophic changes in the finger tips. At this stage it is likely to have caused a serious disruption to employment: £20,750 - £25,250

Serious, where the attacks are less frequent: £11,000 - £20,750

Moderate: £5,700 - £11,000

Minor: £2,000 - £5,700