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Vibration White Finger

This is a condition which affects workers who are involved in the use of vibratory, rotating or hand machinery. The main problem is damage to the fingers, hands and arms but there may also be bone, joint, nerve and circulation damage.

Vibration White Finger (VWF) or hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) symptoms usually start with tingling and numbness in the fingers after the use of machinery. This can lead to numbness and pins needles in the forearm as well. The fingers may also temporarily ache and turn white. Initially one finger may be involved but as the condition progresses the problem will occur more frequently and other fingers will become affected. If several fingers are affected and turn white it may not be possible to reverse the damage.

Vibration White Finger is usually painful and may lead to loss of sensation in your fingers. The symptoms are frequently worse in cold weather and there may be problems with grip and flexibility.

Tools likely to cause a vibration injury include:

• Percussive tools: riveting, caulking, fettling and swaging
• Grinders including pedestal and hand-held
• Pneumatic drills and jack hammers
• Chainsaws and garden machinery

Symptoms include:

• Tingling sensation
• Numbness/whiteness of parts of the fingers
• Loss of grip
• Reduced dexterity
• Aching in the wrists and muscles of the forearm
• Whiteness in the fingers when the weather is cold

Prolonged exposure to the cold, smoking and stress can trigger attacks, therefore if you believe that you have a claim, stop whatever activities are causing the pain and consult your doctor. VWF is treatable, but even short delays can put the recovery back by months or even years.

Successful claim requirements:

• The sufferer must be suffering from a vibration injury caused after 1971
• The injury was caused by the employment
• The employer knew or ought to have known the risk from the work performed
• The employer failed in their duty to take care of the employee by preventing or reducing the exposure

Who is most at risk?

Regular users of hand-held power tools such as percussive tools, grinders, pneumatic drills and hammers, chainsaws and other garden machinery.

• Miners
• Lumberjacks
• Grinders
• Car mechanics
• Road workers
• Welders
• Woodworkers

If you are not sure, we can still advise you.

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