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If you have suffered an accident at work using equipment that you were not properly trained on, regardless of your previous experience, you may agree it is one of the most easily avoidable types of accident.

Your employer has a duty to maintain your health and safety whilst you are working; this includes providing training on all equipment that you will be using during your working time. Even if you’re experienced in a particular job or piece of equipment, your employer must cover how to use the equipment safely; slight differences in machines can lead to injuries that are easily avoidable. This does not just relate to new employees – you can have worked for a company for 20 years, but if you’re instructed to use equipment that you are not familiar with, proper training should always be provided.
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We spend a large proportion of our lives at work – so it comes as no surprise that a high number of personal injury claims result from accidents that happen when people are at work.

Your employer has a legal duty to look after you. An old case decided in 1937 between a mineworker called Mr English and his employers, Wilsons & Clyde Coal Company, set out the extent of this duty.
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OK – so you have had an accident at work and you want to know if you are entitled to make a make a claim for compensation. Well, here is a quick guide to fill you in as to whether you could be entitled to thousands of pounds in compensation for your injuries, suffering, and loss.
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Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE as it is more commonly known, is equipment which can be used or worn to protect you from risks to your health and safety. PPE can come in all shapes and sizes, and so can be anything from safety boots, to ear defenders, to anti vibration gloves.

It is the duty of your employer to provide the necessary PPE, and to cover the full costs of the equipment. Once you are provided with the PPE you should also be trained in its use, your employer should be able to evidence this training with documentation.

Employers must also ensure that the PPE itself does not cause a risk to health and safety, For example, there should be no risk of the PPE getting trapped in machinery or the user overheating due to it.
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There are many different rules and regulations which your employer needs to follow in order to fulfil their duty to you in protecting you from risks to your health and safety. I have listed below some of the main areas these rules and regulations are contained within:
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If you are reading this blog, you may have suffered an accident at work, and are looking to research the matter to find out whether you have a claim, and what to do next. If so, read on to hopefully answer a few of your questions.
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Vibration White Finger is a condition known in the legal world as an industrial disease. This means that a person has incurred an injury as a result of prolonged activity at work over an amount of time. Vibration White Finger is a condition experienced by workers who have have a high degree of exposure to machinery which vibrates; such as drills, or chainsaws.

Vibration White Finger is also known as Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome as we now have more knowledge on the range of symptoms it may cause. Sufferers may not only get the so-called ‘white finger’ but could also experience tingling or numbness in the fingers and/or a general aching sensation which could extend through the fingers and up through the arms.  In more serious cases, it has also been reported that sufferers have lost all feeling in their fingers and even up through their hands.
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I read this evening in the Edinburgh News that an oil worker has been awarded £160,000 in compensation having been involved in an accident whilst working on an oil rig in the North Sea. 

It is reported that Mr Martin Brand had to have two of his fingers partially amputated following his hand being crushed when he was cleaning some pipes and some hydraulic slips unexpectedly moved back in May 2006.  Most of this compensation was awarded on the basis that Mr Brand was disadvantaged on the open labour market.  So what do we mean by this?
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Work accidents can come in all shapes and sizes – you may have fallen from a height, suffered a laceration on your finger due to a lack of protective gloves, or simply tripped in an area where there were no warning signs notifying you of a hazard.

The focus of this blog however is on a certain type of industrial disease known as Vibration White Finger also known as Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome due to the increased awareness of the variety of symptoms a sufferer can experience.

A sufferer may not just get the ‘white finger‘ so to speak, they may also suffer from cold sensations and/or tingling in the fingers, numbness in the fingers, or even a general aching feeling extending throughout the fingers and hands and further up the arms. In more extreme cases sufferers have reported a complete loss of feeling in their finger(s) which may extend up the hand and further up the arm. It’s important to note that different people will experience different symptoms with an increased or decreased severity.
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Sight is one of the most precious gifts we have as humans… It allows us to take in the beautiful scenery of the world we live in, and is how we see and interact with those around us. If we were to lose our sight through an accident, it would be a life changing injury.

The loss of sight we could suffer may either be permanent or temporary. For those who suffer a permanent loss of sight, whether partial, or total loss of sight, it is a devastating injury for the victim and their loved ones.
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