Skip to main content
Legal news

Council fined after man suffers hand arm vibration condition

Jonathan Winston Jonathan Winston
1 min read

Cheshire East Council has been fined £5,300 after an employee contracted a severe form of hand arm vibration syndrome.

South Cheshire Magistrates Court heard that the maintenance worker, who has not been named, often used heavy-duty vibrating equipment including pneumatic drills and hand-held grinders. After the council first identified that the worker had developed the problem, he was recommended for annual assessments but after having one in 2006 he was not seen again until three years later.

The council pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches and, as well as the £5,300 fine, was also ordered to pay £5,860 in costs.

Chris Goddard, the investigating inspector at HSE, said: “The worker was first diagnosed as developing hand arm vibration syndrome in 2005 but the council failed to take any significant action for nearly four years to stop the condition getting worse. It should have limited the amount of time he spent using vibrating equipment, or provided alternative tools.”

Almost two million people in the UK work in conditions where they are at an increased risk of developing hand-arm vibration syndrome. Common symptoms of the condition include difficulty in doing any fine work and being particularly affected by cold weather

hse.gov.uk/press/2011/coi-nw-73cheshireeast.htm?eban=rss-press-release

Client feedback

Every part of the process was well explained and dealt with in a swift/timely manner.
Mark
Heidi was very helpful with my compensation application and was able to answer any questions I had in a timely matter
Anonymous
Very efficient and always available to answer any questions
Alastair
Winston Solicitors handled our recent house purchase and sale and provided an excellent service throughout. Sidraa Razaq, supported by Tom McIlroy, exhibited an outstanding professionalism, expertise, and responsiveness from te moment we first made contact, all of which made what was at times a less than straightforward transaction much easier to navigate. I'd have no hesitation in recommending them to others.
Kieran
Excellent service, very efficient and able to answer questions when needed.
Ben
Fast, excellent and highly professional conveyancing solicitors. Cannot recommend highly enough.
Anonymous
Winstons are brilliant, very responsive to messages, professional and patient. Fantastic customer service- face to face and email/telephone. Would 100% recommend!
Lucy
I recently contracted Winston Solicitors to support me in obtaining a grant of probate following the death of a parent. I worked closely with Emily and found her to be supportive, have great communication and be able to navigate the IHT and probate processes very efficiently.
John
Contact Jonathan