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Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome Claims

England & WalesLast reviewed 18 September 2026

Hand-arm vibration syndrome, including vibration white finger, is a permanent nerve, blood-vessel and joint condition caused by prolonged use of vibrating hand-held tools. You may have a claim if your employer failed to assess, limit and monitor your vibration exposure.

What Employers Must Do

Direct Answer: The 2005 Regulations require employers to assess vibration exposure, keep it below the exposure limit value, take action at the exposure action value, provide information and training and offer health surveillance to at-risk workers.

Common failings include not measuring or recording vibration exposure, supplying high-vibration tools when lower-vibration ones were available, no limit on trigger time, no rotation of tasks, and no health surveillance so that early symptoms were missed.

Symptoms and Diagnosis

HAVS affects the fingers and hands. Early signs are tingling and numbness, followed by fingers turning white in the cold and painful recovery, and later loss of dexterity that makes buttons or small items difficult. Diagnosis usually involves a specialist assessment such as the Stockholm Workshop staging and nerve conduction tests, and the condition can be progressive if exposure continues.

Compensation

Compensation reflects the severity of symptoms and their impact on work and daily life, plus any loss of earnings or reduced ability to continue in your job, and the cost of help at home where relevant. Because HAVS is permanent, the effect on future employment can be significant.

Frequently Asked Questions

What tools cause HAVS?

Vibrating hand-held or hand-guided tools such as pneumatic drills, grinders, chainsaws, sanders, breakers and impact wrenches, particularly with prolonged daily use.

Is HAVS reversible?

Usually not once established. Reducing or stopping exposure can slow progression, which is why early recognition and health surveillance are important.

What if my employer never tested me?

A failure to provide health surveillance where required is a common allegation, since it can mean the condition went unnoticed and exposure continued.

Can I claim against past employers?

Yes. Exposure over a career can be spread across employers, and liability shared according to the vibration and length of exposure with each.

What if my old employer no longer exists?

You may still be able to claim. Employers' liability insurance can often be traced through the Employers' Liability Tracing Office, and a dissolved company can sometimes be restored to the register so that its insurer can be pursued. Do not assume the claim is lost.

How long do I have to bring a HAVS claim?

Generally three years from your date of knowledge: when you first knew you had a significant condition and that it might be work-related. It is not always the date of exposure, which is often decades earlier. A court has a limited discretion to allow late claims, but do not rely on it, and take advice as soon as you have a diagnosis.

Can I claim on a no win no fee basis for a work-related illness?

Usually, yes, if a solicitor thinks the claim has reasonable prospects. A Conditional Fee Agreement means you pay no solicitor fees if the claim fails, and if it succeeds a success fee capped at 25% of general damages and past losses is deducted from your damages. Disease claims need medical and occupational hygiene evidence, so ask how those costs are covered.

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Where this applies: This page covers England and Wales. The rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland are different.

Sources for this page

Every rule stated above is based on the primary sources below. Each link goes to the legislation, court rule or regulator itself so you can check it. Last verified 18 September 2026.

  1. Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, s.58 (conditional fee agreements)

    The provision that makes CFAs lawful and enforceable. CFAs derive from this section, not from LASPO.

  2. Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, arts. 4–5 · in force from 1 April 2013

    Art. 4 caps the success fee at 100% of base costs. Art. 5 caps what may be taken from damages in personal injury at 25% of PSLA plus past pecuniary loss, net of CRU, at first instance.

  3. Civil Procedure Rules, Part 44 (incl. rr.44.13–44.17, QOCS)

    Qualified one-way costs shifting and its exceptions. Rule 44.14 was amended with effect from 6 April 2023.

  4. Limitation Act 1980, s.11 (personal injury actions)

    Three years from the date of the accident or the date of knowledge. Property damage such as a damaged vehicle is a separate claim with a longer six-year period under s.2.

  5. Limitation Act 1980, s.14 (date of knowledge)

    The three-year period can run from the 'date of knowledge': when you first knew the injury was significant and attributable to the act or omission alleged to be negligent. Central in delayed-diagnosis cases.

  6. Limitation Act 1980, s.33 (discretionary exclusion of time limit)

    A court can allow a personal injury claim to proceed out of time where it is equitable to do so. It is a discretion, not a right, and should not be relied on.

  7. Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/1093)

    Sets daily exposure action and limit values for hand-arm and whole-body vibration and requires employers to assess, control and monitor exposure and provide health surveillance.

  8. Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969

    Most employers must hold employers' liability insurance covering injury or disease to employees, so that a successful claimant can be paid.

  9. Employers' Liability Tracing Office

    Industry database that can help trace a former employer's employers' liability insurer, including for old disease claims.

Who wrote and checked this page

Written and published by
Edward & Amaury Solicitors (Edward & Amaury Ltd, company no. 12195443), regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under no. 800525.
Legal review
Checked for England & Wales by Edward & Amaury Solicitors — Solicitors regulated by the SRA (no. 800525) (verify on the regulator’s register).Review is recorded against the firm. The individual reviewer is not named on this page.
Review dates
Last reviewed 18 September 2026. Next review due 18 March 2027.

Fee rules change. California’s medical malpractice fee limits changed on 1 January 2023, and the QOCS rules in England and Wales changed on 6 April 2023. If you spot something out of date, tell us — we publish corrections.

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Where this applies: This page covers England and Wales. The rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland are different.

Sources for this page

Every rule stated above is based on the primary sources below. Each link goes to the legislation, court rule or regulator itself so you can check it. Last verified 2 August 2026.

  1. Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, s.58 (conditional fee agreements)

    The provision that makes CFAs lawful and enforceable. CFAs derive from this section, not from LASPO.

  2. Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, arts. 4–5 · in force from 1 April 2013

    Art. 4 caps the success fee at 100% of base costs. Art. 5 caps what may be taken from damages in personal injury at 25% of PSLA plus past pecuniary loss, net of CRU, at first instance.

  3. Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, ss.44–46 · in force from 1 April 2013

    Ended recoverability of success fees and ATE premiums from the losing party. Did not create or regulate CFAs.

  4. Civil Procedure Rules, Part 44 (incl. rr.44.13–44.17, QOCS)

    Qualified one-way costs shifting and its exceptions. Rule 44.14 was amended with effect from 6 April 2023.

Who wrote and checked this page

Written and published by
Edward & Amaury Solicitors (Edward & Amaury Ltd, company no. 12195443), regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under no. 800525.
Legal review
This page has not yet been through independent legal review. It is written from the primary sources listed below, which you can check directly.
Review dates
Last reviewed 2 August 2026. Next review due 2 February 2027.

Fee rules change. California’s medical malpractice fee limits changed on 1 January 2023, and the QOCS rules in England and Wales changed on 6 April 2023. If you spot something out of date, tell us — we publish corrections.