Lancashire County Council fined £50k over staff vibration illness

The debilitating condition can be triggered by use of hand-held machinery

A council has admitted breaching health and safety standards after 15 road workers developed irreversible hand-arm vibration syndrome.

Lancashire County Council had been told to improve management of the condition, triggered by use of hand-held machinery, after one case emerged in its highways department.

However, a further 14 "preventable" cases were then reported.

The authority was ordered to pay more than £60,000 in fines and costs.

Manchester Crown Court heard how in February 2019 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) received a report from the council relating to the diagnosis of a case of the condition in an employee.

An improvement notice was served in July but the cases mounted.

An investigation later found the council had not accurately recorded workers levels of exposure to vibration, had not acted promptly to reduce or stop exposure levels when symptoms were reported, and also failed to send reports of diagnoses to HSE, as required under the improvement notice.

Inspectors also found risk assessments were not adequate and practices to prevent overexposure to machinery had not been implemented.

Lancashire County Council did not do enough to protect its employees, inspectors said

The HSE said had these measures been in place all fifteen reported cases could have been prevented.

Inspector Jennifer French said: "Hand-arm vibration syndrome can be a serious and sometimes disabling condition that is irreversible.

"All employers have a duty to provide effective measures to ensure the health of their staff are not seriously or permanently harmed by the work they are asked to do."

The council admitted a range of health and safety breaches, was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,366,78 at a hearing on 5 May.

The council has been asked to comment.