Compensation for white finger

The community union ISTC has won an important legal victory on behalf of its current and former members who were employed by Corus at the Llanwern steelworks.

The victory opens up the potential for hundreds of other workers who contracted vibration white finger in similar circumstances to seek compensation for their injuries.

The case, taken on behalf of Ken Brown, Lloyd Grogan and Peter Tricky, was heard at the Court of Appeal in March. The court found that the three men had worked very long hours and so had very high levels of exposure to vibrations causing by jack-hammering.

The employer should have ensured that they had plenty of breaks and worked shorter shifts in order to protect their health.