Vibration White Finger

Vibration White Finger Compensation

Vibration White Finger Claims are made for an industrial injury caused by hand-held vibrating machinery. Vibration white finger disease is the vascular component of Hand Arm Vibrating Syndrome, known as HAVS. It has been recognised as an industrial disease for many years and is known to affect tens of thousands of workers. As a result, many compensation claims are made for VWF each year.

Causes of Vibration White Finger

Vibration White Finger can be caused by repeated use of vibrating machinery such as chainsaws, pneumatic drills and power drills. It’s not entirely known how the vibrations cause HAVS, but it’s thought that they cause small but repetitive injuries to the nerves and blood vessels in the fingers, which add up over time.

The biggest compensation story surrounding HAVS and Vibration White Finger occurred when the government set up a scheme to compensate ex-miners who had suffered from the condition due to working in the mines with vibrating tools. By 2004, over £100 million had been paid out in Vibration White Finger compensation. It’s now thought that, despite preventative action in place, around 1 in 10 users of vibrating machinery are sufferers of vibration white finger.

HAVS is a secondary form of Raynaud's disease, causing white fingers, numbness and sometimes tingling in the fingers. In persistent cases, the effects of HAVS can be quite severe – affecting a person even during leisure activities, and lasting from minutes up to hours at a time.

Vibration White Finger Symptoms

The symptoms of Vibration White Finger include fingers turning white, a loss of manual dexterity and a lack of grip strength. The effects can be accentuated in cold weather, and are made all the more painful when the blood returns to the fingers, causing them to turn red, and sometimes blue, accompanied by an uncomfortable throbbing. The amounts of compensation for vibration white finger vary significantly depending on the extent of the injury.

HAVS can initially appear as a minor injury, producing symptoms such as numbness when outside in the cold weather. However, with continued use of vibrating tools, the uncomfortable symptoms of Vibration White Finger can start to occur at less extreme temperatures, when the hands get wet, or even in the summer.

Left to continue, Vibration White Finger can affect whole fingers, and even have some permanent numbing effects. Unfortunately, it’s been seen for symptoms to occur months or years after use of vibrating machinery has discontinued. Ironically, the vibrating tools themselves rarely induce the symptoms of Vibration White Finger; it’s usually down to the cold.

It’s thought that smoking, caffeine, some medicines and some drugs can make the effects of Vibration White Finger worse, so it’s recommended to try and give these up. Exercise and keeping warm are good ways to combat Vibration White Finger. It’s also known that women are 9 times more likely to suffer from the disease than men.

Claiming Compensation

Sometimes, compensation is the best option to take. If you’ve been using vibrating machinery under instruction and not been told about the possible side effects and how to combat them, you could have a good case for a Vibration White Finger compensation claim. Compensation is often the only way to recover lost earnings due to the disease, and to make up for the suffering.

Proving the cause of the disease is important if Vibration White Finger claims are to be successful. Expert evidence may well be required for an individual compensation case.

Call National Accident Helpline™ or claim online to be put in touch with a specialist able to give you a free consultation.