HAVS Judgement
High Court Judgement in Hand Arm Vibration Case
Donnelly & Kinder were proud to be instructed in what is understood to be the first reported judgment in Northern Ireland relating to a hand arm vibration claim.
Our client, Mr Concarr had been employed by the Defendant Montecron since 1983 as a fitter working with vibration machinery throughout the course of his employment. He started to suffer from symptoms connected to hard arm vibration syndrome in or around 2017. Mr Concarr brought those symptoms to the attention of his employer during a health surveillance appointment but no action was taken at that time.
Mr Concarr's claim was heard over 4 days at the High Court in Belfast before Mr Justice Rooney. At the commencement of the Hearing the Defendant conceded that they were in Breach of their Statutory Duty to Mr Concarr but denied that he was exposed to such levels of vibration that would cause injury. Expert Engineering evidence obtained by our office disputed this defence position.
In addition, the Defendant had no system of Health Surveillance prior to 2016. When Mr Concarr was identified as having HAVS there was a failure by the Defendant to assess and take steps to remove Mr Concarr from working with vibration machinery, thereby continuing to expose him to the risk of further injury.
Mr Justice Rooney held that
‘……..during the course of the plaintiff’s employment, the defendant persisted in breach of its statutory duties, and in particular a failure to
assess and reduce the vibration levels to which the plaintiff was exposed. It failed to provide a proper system for detecting and preventing
prolonged occupational exposure to vibration tools and it failed to carry out any risk assessments. As stated in Brown v Corus (UK), by not
doing anything about assessing the vibration levels of the handheld tools, the defendant materially increased the risk that the plaintiff
would suffer from HAVS. In my judgment, there is clearly a causal connection between the defendant’s wrongful conduct and the plaintiff’s injury’
Mr Concarr was awarded the sum of £30000 for his injuries together with an award of £15724.25 to account for his loss of earnings. Interest was also awarded.
Jayne Knox, the solicitor dealing with this case said:
'Mr Concarr sustained injuries during the course of his employment with the defendant. The documentation provided by the defendant showed the lack of adherence to their statutory duties. Our Engineering evidence was also critical in establishing the vibration levels that our client was exposed to. I am extremely pleased with the outcome for Mr Concarr who was a gentleman throughout this case. This judgement now provides the benchmark for HAVS claims in this jurisdiction
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