Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) 

Hand arm vibration syndrome is personal injury caused by the vibration. Sufferers may be able to make a compensation claim.

There are a number of different types of injury:

• Vibration white finger syndrome (VWF) The finger tips or sometimes the whole of the fingers turn white and feel numb.  After a while, they regain their usual colour and feeling will return.  
• Raynaud’s Phenomenon The finger tips or the whole fingers blanch or turn white like in VWF
• Nerve damage to the fingers. Vibration can cause damage to the nerves in the fingers and this is known as the sensorineural effect.  This nerve damage gives rise to tingling and pins and needles and also it makes your fingers clumsy because of the loss of the sense of touch.
• Musculo-skeleton problems This is vibration injury to the joints and can cause problems such as loss of grip.
• Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) This is vibration injury to the median nerve at the carpal tunnel in the wrist and hand.  This causes tingling and numbness in the fingers and these can particularly be a problem on a night time.

If your employer has failed to take steps to reduce excessive noise in your working environment or provide protective equipment such as ear defenders etc -  you may be entitled to make a compensation claim

Please note: that we have had a number of enquiries from claimants stating that doctors are failing to properly diagnose conditions relating to vibration type injuries. If you or your family have encountered this you may be able to claim for medical compensation. Please speak to us if you need an unbiased legal opinion.

Read more

Learn more about the symptoms you may encounter with white finger and related diseases.

Also how to identify whether you have grounds to make a claim for vibration injury. 

You may also wish to learn about the key legal issues in vibration white finger VWF claims.

Many people have made successful claims for white finger 

Generally, the symptoms of white finger (VWF) usually start when your hands get cold.  The first sign of VWF is often an occasional attack and only the fingertips become white.  However if the hands continue to suffer vibration the injury becomes worse. 

Sometimes a person may not suffer the white finger injury and instead suffer only the sensory nerve damage, developing problems of pins and needles or numbness in their fingers.

Also read about claiming for a WRULD injury

More links:

What is Vibration white finger? - protecting workers against vibration injury - HSE on Vibration injuries - employers Liability insurance - what you should know

Legal advice covering the whole of the UK - including Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Nottingham, Bradford, Hull, Bristol, Cardiff, Newport, Liverpool & Merseyside, Newcastle, Sunderland and the North east.