Years of using heavy-duty machinery such as pneumatic drills and hand-held grinders had left the 56-year-old man with a severe form of hand arm vibration syndrome.
The worker, who asked not to be named, had joined Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council as a mechanic in 1984 and regularly used vibrating equipment.
South Cheshire Magistrates Court in Crewe heard that the council, which became part of Cheshire East Council in April 2009, first identified the early stages of the condition in July 2005. The worker was recommended for annual assessments but, despite being reassessed in 2006, he was not seen again until 2009.
He now has difficulty picking up small objects, such as coins, and his hands become very painful in cold weather.
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Cheshire East Council pleaded guilty to two breaches of the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 at South Cheshire Magistrates Court on 21 January 2011. The council, of Westfields in Sandbach, was fined £5,300 and ordered to pay £5,860 towards the cost of the prosecution.
The case was brought by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE). Afterwards, HSE inspector Chris Goddard said: "The worker was first diagnosed as developing hand arm vibration syndrome in 2005 but the council failed to take any significant action for nearly four years to stop the condition getting worse.
"It should have limited the amount of time he spent using vibrating equipment, or provided alternative tools. Instead, he was allowed to continue with his job without any changes.
"If this action had been taken, the worker's condition could have been prevented from becoming serious. Instead, he has suffered a permanent loss of movement to his hands."
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