Have you used any of the following tools during the course of your employment ?

• Concrete breakers
• Scabblers
• Jigsaws
• Angle Grinders
• Sanders
• Chipping Hammers
• Needle Guns
• Hammer Drills
• Vibratory Compactors
• Jigger Picks

Have you noticed any of the following symptoms in your fingers (especially during cold weather) ?

• Tingling
• Numbness
• Whitening

If so, then you may have developed vibration white finger (also known as hand arm vibration
syndrome). Many people believe that it only miners can claim compensation for this condition,
but that is not the case. Unless caught at an early enough stage, vibration white finger is a
permanent condition, which can continue to get worse unless you stop or reduce your exposure
to vibration. Your employer should be aware of how much vibration you should be exposed to
during an average working day, and also advise you what symptoms to look out for as the
condition starts to develop. If they don’t take the necessary precautions to help prevent the
condition starting, then they may be liable to pay you compensation.

These types of claims can be very technical. We have the necessary experience to advise you (at
an early stage) whether your exposure to vibration could give rise to a potential claim, and if so,
help you to obtain the necessary medical evidence to confirm whether you do indeed have this
increasingly common condition. If you do, we can help to advise you as to the level of
compensation to which you are entitled.

This condition is a form of arthritis which can cause tingling, pain and weakness in the fingers
and thumbs of sufferers. Symptoms may be present in either or both hands.

It can occur naturally, or as the result of injury or repetitive forceful manual work (such as using
vibratory tools and equipment, factory equipment, lawn mowers, or sewing machines). It is
possible to undergo surgery to try and correct the condition, although success rate vary, and
some medical experts claim that such surgery is less likely to have the desired outcome if
symptoms have developed as a result of a person’s occupation.

Employers who fail to warn any workers who may be at risk of developing this condition, and
adapt their working practices to minimise or reduce the risk, may be liable to pay affected
employees compensation.

As with all industrial disease claims, time is of the essence. Anybody who starts to notice the
symptoms should seek both medical and legal help immediately, if they believe that the
symptoms are work related. We can advise you as to whether your type of work is likely to result
in liability on the part of your employer, and if you are entitled, help you make a claim.

It is generally accepted that since about 1963 employers should have been aware of the risks of
exposing workers to high levels of noise, and should taken appropriate steps to warn workers of
those risks and (in many cases) put in place and enforce measures to reduce or remove those
risks.

The risk from exposure to noise above a certain level is that it can cause permanent hearing
damage in certain frequency ranges. Victims may start to notice that they have difficulty following
conversations, or their friends and family may notice that the victim is starting to speak more
loudly or has the television at an increasingly high volume.

It is usually possible to confirm a diagnosis of industrial deafness (also known as noise induced
hearing loss) from a special hearing test, which can identify whether a person’s hearing loss is
just due to age ( a process known as presbyacusis) or whether it is in fact likely to have been
caused at work.

If noise levels in any working environment are above 85 decibels, then workers should at least
be warned about the dangers of noise exposure, and be provided with hearing protection if they
want it. If the noise levels are above 90 decibels, then the employer has no choice but to insist
that workers use hearing protection. As a rough guide, any worker should be able to speak to
another worker 2 feet way without shouting. If they can’t, then this is an indication that the noise
levels are dangerous.

Any worker who has been exposed to excessive noise, and who has not been given the
necessary warnings or hearing protection, may have a claim for noise induced hearing loss.
It may take many years for a person to start to notice their hearing loss. Indeed, it may be the
case that by the time the loss becomes noticeable, the worker may not have been exposed to
noise for many years. The factory where they worked may have shut down, or the employers gone
out of business. However, it may still be possible to bring a claim.

The most important thing is to seek legal advice as soon as possible after the symptoms
become noticeable. Failure to do so could result in any claim being held to be “out of time”.

We have the experience to give no-nonsense, practical advice in relation to these claims, and the
basic message is always the same. The sooner the claim is made, the better the chances of success.