A ST HELENS firm of solicitors has predicted that the Government may have to pay millions of pounds in compensation after seven former miners won their test case for the condition known as Vibration White Finger.

The seven, all represented by J. Keith Park and Co., were awarded £125,000 in a landmark hearing at Newcastle Crown Court after Judge John Stevenson ruled that their former employer, British Coal - now a Government owned Shell company - had failed to keep the miners informed about the condition or taken steps to prevent it.

VWF, or 'dead man's fingers' is caused by a restriction of the blood supply to the hand due to prolonged use of vibration tools and equipment. According to Gerald McLoughlin, a consultant surgeon based at Rodney Street in Liverpool, this restriction leads to nerve damage and a loss of sensation and strength in the hands and fingers, sensitivity to cold, acute pain and whitening of the fingers. In its advanced stage, there is neither treatment nor cure for the condition and in some cases, victims can completely lose the use of their hands.

Former miner Peter Tracey, from Newton, has been fighting for compensation for the last seven years and now hopes the test cases will pave the way for his own case to go before the courts.

The 75-year-old grandfather of 10 told the Star: "I started off at Lyme Pit in Newton and when that closed in 1964, we were all moved to Parkside Colliery where I stayed until 1984 when I had to retire because of angina.

"I had been getting symptoms of VWF since the 1960s though and my hands have got steadily worse since. My fingers get numb and sometimes I can't hold anything with them because there is no feeling.

"I do feel angry at British Coal because, although I got my living from them, particularly with five children to support, they didn't tell us anything about the risks we were taking. Nowadays, people working with machinery all wear gloves but we had to do everything with our bare hands and I think that is the cause of it."

Ronny Hutcheon, a specialist solicitor dealing with the claims added: "It's very important that mineworkers or anyone else who believes that they are suffering from the disease and who used vibratory tools after 1975, comes forward as soon as possible. This may avoid the possibility of otherwise genuine claims being refused purely on the legal grounds that more than three years has elapsed since the victims had reason to believe their condition was caused through the use of these tools."

J. Keith Park and Co. have now set up a special freephone helpline on 0500 102 201 for anyone wishing to register a claim or find out more information about VWF.

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