Farm Accident Claims

Bringing a Farm Accident Compensation Claim Against Your Employer

You will generally find that the standard of safety on a farm is not anything near what it would be in any other kind of environment given the levels of risk involved. This is of course not intended to be a criticism of farmers and their attitude toward safety but simply reflects the fact that in Ireland most farms are run at a scale both in terms of staff numbers and profitability that they could not possibly ascribe the level of resources to health and safety as employers in the construction or industrial sectors can. Many farms are small family businesses without the formal health and safety structures you would normally expect to see in other industries.

As a result, many farmers are effectively overseeing themselves, which is never a good idea. Accordingly, the risks associated with working on a farm can be far greater than they would be in an equally hazardous industrial or construction environment because you don’t have the same structures in place that a designated independent health and safety officer would be obliged to implement and enforce, including things like risk assessments, safety statements, etc. You may find this information on accidents in agriculture useful.

Typical Types of Accidents Occuring in Farm & Agricultural Settings

The types of particular accidents that one can expect to see associated with farms include:

• Accidents involving tractors and farm machinery, for instance, a hand becoming caught and mangled in a bailer or power take off.
• Accidents caused by livestock on farms, for instance being knocked and crushed or trampled by cattle, kicked by a horse, or gored by a bull.
• Accidents caused by livestock straying or breaking out onto the public road causing road traffic accident.
• Accidents resulting from dangerous heights and depth, for instance, unsecured heaps or pits.
• Accidents and injuries caused by hazardous materials on farms, for instance, dangerous chemicals or dangerous gasses from slurry pits, etc.
• Accidents caused by detritus left on the road, for instance, if farm material is being moved from one place to another via the public road, this may leave muck or scum and other detritus on the road surface which, if not removed in a responsible fashion, may create a dangerous road surface causing hazards for other road users.

Some links relating to farm safety that you may find useful.

• Gov.ie – Farm Safety
• HSA – Agriculture Code of Practice
• Farmers4Safety – Industry Risk Management Website