You may be able to get Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit if you have Dupuytren’s contracture caused by your work.

Dupuytren’s contracture is a condition where, over time, one or more fingers permanently bend in towards the palm of your hand and can no longer be straightened. This condition can also affect the thumb.

Eligibility

You must have Dupuytren’s contracture that started while both of the following applied:

• you were employed for 10 years or more in jobs that involved using hand-held powered tools with internal parts that vibrate
• you used the tools for 2 hours or more a day for 3 or more days a week for all of the 10-year period

And as a result of that work, you developed ‘fixed flexion deformity’ of one or more of your finger joints. This means that for each finger affected, one or more of the joints of your finger must be permanently bent.

The illustration shows the joints between the fingers and the palm (metacarpophalangeal joints) and the joints along the finger (interphalangeal joints).

If only the joint between your finger and your palm is affected, then the permanent bend must be more than 45 degrees.

If any of the joints along the finger are affected, they can be permanently bent to any degree.

You may have developed the permanent bend to your finger joints while you were working.

If you developed the permanent bend to your finger after leaving your job, you also need to show that one of the following applied::

• the joint between your finger and the palm of your hand had started to bend while you were working in that job
• changes had started to occur to your palm, for example thickening of the skin or development of ‘palmar nodules’ (small lumps on your palm) while you were working in that job

Read more information about Dupuytren’s contracture on the NHS website.

You cannot claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit if you were self-employed.

How to claim

Download and print claim form BI100PD.

You can ask for a printed version of the form by calling an Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) centre.

If you’re calling from the UK

If you’re calling from abroad

Alternative formats

Call an IIDB centre or write to Barnsley IIDB Centre to ask for alternative formats such as braille, large print or audio CD.

Where to send the form

Send the completed form to:

If you live abroad

Send the completed form to:

Medical assessment

If you’re eligible to claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit for Dupuytren’s contracture and live in the UK, you may need a medical assessment with a trained healthcare professional.

The healthcare professional will ask you about your condition, to assess the level of disability caused by this disease.

The level of your disability will affect the amount of benefit you may get.

If you live abroad, you may be asked to send a medical report.