I remember reading about this late last year, not really that many surprises here though. Many large companies who do have in-house expertise, as I believe this company did, still fail in many undertakings, not just MSD‘s. I remember a similar MSD case in 1999, some employers just don’t take head of the actual issues faced by employees. Conversely, as the issue of CTS is well known and pain is one of its primary attributes, even in early stages, we should also address the employees understanding regarding their occupational illness. Because we don’t have all the facts here we can only surmise however, the payout on this case was relatively small in comparison to other cases relating to CTS and it’s not sent any actual precedent in terms of case law and specific points of law. I believe the majority of Occupational Health and Safety Professionals strive to achieve the best for their fellow employees and others. Maybe in this case we should address the knowledge of the persons who undertook the assessments and the training needs of the employees together with the provisions of the SSOW at this company.

Kieran There have also been cases on the London Underground as well. As I understand it, the problem emanates from poor ergonomics, lack of training and possibly not completing an RA to identify the problem in the first place. At first it might seem OTT, however, as an ex train driver I can comment that some of these deadman's handles can be very uncomfortable when held down for long periods. I suspect if we were talking about VDUs and associated work equipment there would be a more sympathetic perspective. The issus are much the same and RSI/WRULDS I believe cannot be cured other than by rest. No doubt some individuals will make more of the problem than need be, but that is life.

I think the main problem is that there are so few cases. The first one I became aware of was about ten years ago concerning a Central Line train driver, who has since retired. The case was settled out of court and therefore not much use to anyone but the individual. I believe LUL were happy to bury this and treat it as a one-off, but of course that was a short-sighted view as it has now resurfaced. The other problem is that large organisations can withstand the odd civil claim and therefore it not really an issue which gives rise to any concern or action.