Vibration White Finger Claims

What causes vibration white finger or HAVS?

VWF, also known as white finger or HAVS, is a workplace injury caused by overusing vibrating tools. Equipment that can cause VWF includes:

• Jackhammers
• Concrete breakers
• Sanders
• Grinders
• Powered mowers
• Chainsaws
• Scabblers or needle guns
• Hedge trimmers
• Rotary equipment.

You are at high risk of VWF if you have worked in an industry that required you to use equipment such as pneumatic drills, grinding tools or concrete breakers, including construction, rail or road maintenance, engineering and mining.

Why choose Irwin Mitchell to make a compensation claim for vibration white finger?

Our lawyers have specialist expertise in VWF and HAVS compensation claims. In the late 1990s, we handled a series of claims against British Coal, resulting in 40,000 former miners receiving a share of £500 million for VWF. We have successfully pursued many HAVS claims against numerous employers since then.

You can benefit from our decades of experience to make a claim for the compensation you deserve—we will make sure the claims process is both stress-free and jargon-free so you can get what you need to put things right.

What should my employer have done to protect me against VWF or HAVS?

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers have a general duty of care to employees. Under the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, they have more specific duties of care to employees who use vibrating tools. They must make sure you get all the information and protective equipment you need to work safely, including:

• Making sure the exposure to vibration is kept as low as possible
• Making sure risks from vibration are monitored and controlled
• Providing information, instruction, and training on the risks of vibration
• Regularly monitoring your health in relation to the risks of vibration
• Providing personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves
• Ensuring you can take adequate breaks from using vibrating equipment.

If your use of vibrating tools isn't monitored or controlled, and you haven’t been provided with any information or training, your employer's negligence could have put you at risk of developing HAVS.