Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), also known as Vibration White Finger, has left another person debilitated for his entire life. It is an occupational disease which afflicts those who work with hand-held vibrating equipments. The disease usually manifests in the form of discoloured skin, numb fingers and aches in hands, arms etc.

Anthony Barry, an employee of Ford Motor Company Limited in Halewood, was left handicapped after years of working with vibrating tools in the company. The 61-year -old man from St Helens had left the company around nine years back and later joined National Museum Liverpool as a visitor assistant.

Barry said that in 33 years of his employment while he had been using such tools, no one had informed him regarding the risks involved. It was only in 2005 when he developed the first symptoms of discoloured skin that he was informed about the disease by a former co-employee. This alarmed him and he went to meet a doctor who declared that he was suffering from HAVS.

He sued his former employers for the suffering caused to him due to his work and was given £8,500 in compensation. Lisa Gormley, a representative of his advocates Thompsons Solicitors, explained that Ford Motor had an obligation to assess the risks and protect the health of Barry especially when he had been working with power tools. This is enforced by the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005. However, Ford’s failure caused Barry’s disease to develop and now he will have to suffer forever.

Employers need to provide appropriate training for their employees to reduce both lost time through work related injuries and/or potential employer’s liability claims, this can be achieved by taking an IOSH Managing course from Workplace Law Training.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 14th, 2009 at 5:19 am and is filed under Economy, Online Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.