RSI database aims to cut injuries

A new database providing information on important Court judgments in repetitive strain injury (RSI) cases is part of government plans to reduce the number of sufferers of the painful industrial injury.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which has funded the database, said it will be "of direct and immediate benefit" to legal and health professionals working in the RSI field, trade unions, insurers and designers and people with the condition.

The HSE said: "The longer term aim is reducing the number of sufferers from this debilitating industrial injury."

The work-related upper limb disorder database - which can be found at www.humanetechnology.co.uk - provides details of judgments including the factors that courts considered important in reaching their decisions, the degree of care exercised by employers and the amount of damages awarded to claimants.

It is estimated that last year nearly 375,000 people in the UK suffered from a musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) mainly affecting the upper limbs or neck that was caused or made worse by their current or past work.

Many working days are lost across a wide range of occupations due to the condition, and experts have warned that increased use of computers and texting on mobile phones by children could see an increase in the number of cases of RSI in future.

John Price, HSE MSD programme manager, said in a statement: "HSE is supporting this work as it can use this information to help write guidance, which can be interpreted correctly and consistently by employers, employees and the courts."