This holiday season, it’s vital to raise awareness about Vibration White Finger (VWF), especially since its symptoms are notoriously aggravated by the cold weather.
What is Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS)?
The Christmas holidays bring cheer, lights, and often, a sharp drop in temperature. For millions of workers across the UK who have been exposed to Hand-Arm Vibration (HAV) at work, the festive cold can turn a season of joy into one of discomfort.
HAVS is a complex condition caused by regular exposure to vibration from hand-held power tools and machinery. Back in 2003, the HSE estimated that up to five million people were exposed to HAV at work, with as many as two million exposed to injury-risk levels.
For many years, the awareness of its serious consequences was limited. The ‘date of guilty knowledge’ for VWF began in the mid-1970s following the publication of the British Standard ‘Vibration White Finger in Industry.’
However, legal rulings have shown that the responsibility to assess and monitor employees for VWF symptoms varied significantly across industries, with some employers only being held liable for knowledge from the early 1990s onward.
Symptoms that get worse in the cold
HAVS is a selection of symptoms affecting the vascular system, nervous system, muscles, and other tissues in the hands and arms. Crucially, the cold can be a major trigger for one of the syndrome’s most distressing features:
- Vascular: Episodic blanching of the fingers (fingers turn stark white), often followed by intense redness and pain. This rarely affects the thumbs initially.
- Neurological: Numbness, tingling, reduced sensation (touch and temperature), and reduced dexterity.
- Musculoskeletal: Pain and stiffness in the hand and arm.
You do not need to have the full range of symptoms to be diagnosed with HAVS, but if you experience any of the above, especially the ‘white finger’ episodes triggered by the cold, you should seek medical advice.
Management and Prevention Tips for the Christmas Period
If you or a loved one suffers from VWF/HAVS, the cold winter and holiday season requires extra vigilance. Managing symptoms during cold periods involves a combination of preventative measures and symptom management:
- Stay Warm: This is the most critical step. Ensure you wear warm gloves or mittens anytime you are outside. Even brief exposure to cold air can trigger a painful blanching episode.
- Layer Up: Keep your whole body warm, not just your hands. Warm core blood circulation is key to keeping the extremities warmer.
- Be Mindful of Non-Work Exposure: While vibration at work caused the condition, exposure to cold is what precipitates the painful episodes. Be careful when handling frozen foods, clearing ice from the car, or even holding a cold drink.
- Seek Medical Advice: If symptoms are worsening, speak to your doctor about symptom management strategies.
The Diagnostic Process
Diagnosing HAVS can be challenging, as the symptoms can sometimes arise for constitutional reasons (such as Raynaud’s phenomenon). The diagnostic process typically involves:
- Excluding other medical causes.
- Assessing the work history and history of vibration exposure.
- A description of symptoms consistent with VWF/HAVS.
This Christmas season, learn your options and secure the right support for your vibration injury today.
Frequently asked questions:
What is the duty of my employer to protect my health?
Under the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act, every employer has a duty so far as is reasonably practicable to ensure the safety and welfare of employees.
In 1975, a British Standards Institution Draft development publication referred to vibration magnitudes of below 1.0 ms2 as ‘acceptable vibration magnitudes’, and magnitudes above 10m/s2 as ‘unacceptable vibration magnitudes.
In 1994, the HSE published guidelines that referred to a standard based on an action level of A8 of 2.8 m/s. The 2.8m/s is the average vibration level over the course of an eight-hour day. At that level, ten per cent of people exposed for eight hours a day for eight years would experience symptoms of finger blanching, and the exposure would be foreseeable.
Work with vibrating tools is rarely continuous, and as such, the time of exposure (‘trigger time’) must be considered.
In 2005, the statute, the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, was passed and implemented from the 6th of July 2005. This act set two exposure limits:
Limit 1 – Exposure Action Value (EAV) – 2.5 m/s (Reg 4(1)(b))
Limit 2 – Exposure Limit Value (ELV) – 5 m/s2 (Reg 4(1)(a))
The EAV is the maximum amount of vibration an employee may be exposed to before an employer is required to take certain action to reduce exposure. These actions may include (Reg 6):
- Undertaking a review of the design/layout of the workplace.
- Job rotation to eliminate or reduce vibration.
- Provide suitable training and information to employees.
- Appropriate work schedules with adequate work schedules.
The ELV is the maximum amount of vibration an employee may be exposed to in any single day (Reg 6 (4))
How do I make a claim?
If you have read the above and feel that you may be suffering from any symptoms whilst exposed to repetitive tasks at work, call Oakwood Solicitors Ltd to speak to our dedicated Industrial Disease team and ask about our ‘No-Win, No-Fee’ agreement.
To run the majority of personal injury claims, you have to have started the claim within three years of the injury.
However, with Industrial Disease claims, it may be that the injury started over a period of time and was only diagnosed within the last three years. We will be able to clarify this for you.
Will I lose my job if I make a claim?
If you are still working for the Defendants, they cannot dismiss you for making or proposing to make a claim. If your employer attempts to do so when you are able to make a successful unfair dismissal claim.
In our experience, the majority of insurers understand their duties owed to you and the right you have to pursue a claim if this duty has been breached.
In the majority of matters, the claim will normally be transferred from the Defendants directly to their insurers, and it will be the insurers who will deal with the defence of the action.
How long will my case take?
The length of time for a case can vary and can strongly depend on how Defendants and their insurers want to defend the action.
Initially, it may be that we request certain documents from the Defendants/their insurers, such as risk assessments/job sheets, to fully assess the claim before any formal claim is made.
These cases can take anywhere from twelve months to three years to conclude.
Why should I choose Oakwood Solicitors?
We have a very experienced and dedicated Industrial Disease team. They are able to identify whether a claim is likely to be viable at an early stage and give advice.
The team works with an extensive network of orthopaedic surgeons and hand surgeons. They have dealt with a number of claims in all areas of Industrial Disease and have achieved some excellent results. If there are no risk assessments and the Defendants argue that the risk to your health was foreseeable (should have been known), a report from an Ergonomist may be required.
These experts would consider the systems in place and whether they were reasonable in all the circumstances. If required, this is something that we will arrange for in your claim.
Further information:
Vibration Injuries.
Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS).
WHAT TO DO NEXT
If you have been impacted by vibration white finger over the winter period, get in touch today for a no-obligation consultation.
Choose one of the methods on the right-hand side of this page, or call us on 0113 200 9720 to find out how we can help you.
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Liam Hill is a Solicitor and Deputy Head of the Industrial Disease Team, having trained and qualified at Oakwood Solicitors. Liam joined us in 2013 after successfully completing the Legal Practice C…
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