This week's disease is the well-known industrial disease, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

IS EVERYBODY COVERED BY THE SCHEME?

If you are an employee and suffer from an accident at work after 4/7/48 or you suffer from an industrial disease, although many were not registered until later than this date, you may be covered by the scheme. You must have been working for an employer, however it does not matter if you were earning enough to pay tax or National Insurance, you are still covered.

ACTION AFTER AN INCIDENT

As soon as you can after an incident at work, report it to your employer. By law if there are more than 10 people working in premises an accident book must be kept. It does not matter how trivial you think the accident is: a pain in the stomach, for example, may become a hernia. If in any doubt, register the accident anyway. If you have to have time off as a result of the accident claim benefit right away.

PRESCRIBED INDUSTRIAL DISEASE A12 CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is described by the DSS simply as that and the occupations that give rise to it are described as the use of hand-held powered tools whose internal parts vibrate so as to transmit that vibration to the hand, but excluding those which are solely powered by hand.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Definition - A nerve disorder in the hand which causes pain and loss of feeling, especially in the first three fingers and the thumb.

Body parts involved - median nerve at the wrist joint, blood vessels, nerves and tendons of the hand.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

Tingling or numbness in part of hand, sharp pains that shoot from the wrist up the arm, especially at night, burning sensations in the fingers, thumb weakness, frequent droping of objects, inability to make a fist and shiny, dry skin on the hand.

MEDICATION

The doctor may prescribe diuretics to decrease the fluid retention that causes swollen tissue or anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce inflammation or cortisone injections at the wrist to reduce inflammation. Many people are advised to wear splints on the wrist and arm at night.

DSS ADVICE

There are at present 67 different registered industrial diseases the onus is firmly on you to claim for an industrial disease, so if you believe that any condition you have may be work-related then ask the DSS and your doctor for advice. If you ask the DSS, get their response in writing as the rules on backdating have been changed so you will lose money.

ADVICE

I suggest you read DSS leaflet N12 to get a full list of the occupations. Only if you have the condition and have worked in one of the jobs described will you be able to make a successful claim but that is only the start and it is clearly a minefield to tread through. It is important to take advice as son as you possibly can. Make sure that the person you contact is an expert in the type of problem that you have. Do not allow people to practise on your case as there may be a lot of money to loose.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.