Case Studies

Case Study One

In 2002, a court ordered Barclays Bank to pay compensation of £244,000 to a former employee who was forced to give up work as a result of pain in her right hand. Fiona Conaty had worked as a bank clerk and argued that a defective work station caused her to carry out keyboard work with an unsuitable posture.

Her symptoms developed over two years, after which time Miss Conaty was unable to tie her shoes or even comb her hair. She was only 28 years old at the time of the case.

Most cases are settled out of court. However, there have been some well publicised large awards, for example, to Kathleen Tovey and Kathleen Harris, both typists at the Inland Revenue, who were awarded £82,000 and £79,000 respectively.

However, in the majority of cases, early recognition of the symptoms of Workstation Related Illness and appropriate measures to prevent further damage can avoid extreme outcomes. Eman Zaman, a London medical writer recognised the early symptoms of RSI during the development of a particularly challenging presentation pack. 'I was lucky. As a medical writer, I recognised the early signs and could take the necessary steps to improve my posture and limit further damage. Poor awareness is at the root of many an RSI sufferer's pain - which is why any effort to promote it, is so important.'

Case Study Two

Petroleum Technology Center (PTC) is Marathon Oil Company's technology and field-operations support facility. Following the computerisation of tasks in 1993 the workforce was down-sized, requiring more work to be accomplished by fewer workers. Within 2 years the number of reported injuries increased from 1% to 3% of the total employees, 77% of which were computer workstation related injuries.

The main causes identified were awkward posture required to perform the tasks, the repetitive motions of performing the tasks using computer workstations and increased time spent at a computer.

To resolve the issue PTC implemented an employee education program on ergonomics issues, with ten employees given advanced training in order to provide in-house ergonomics advisors to coworkers. In addition adjustable chairs, foot rests, articulating keyboard trays, wrist rests, glare filters, document holders and lumbar back supports were provided.

As a result workers exposure to computer workstation injuries was reduced. Employee feedback was very positive feedback and there were no new computer workstation injury claims after the implementation of the ergonomics program.