What Are the Common Causes of Farming Accidents?

According to the National Ag Safety Database (NASD), about 60 to 70 per 100,000 farm workers die from farming accidents every year; and one third of farm workers suffer from nonfatal injuries—including both lost-time and no lost-time accidents—annually.

Can Defective Farming Equipment be a factor?

Defective farming equipment is a huge issue in the agricultural industry. Farming Equipment companies continue to produce and distribute dangerous and faulty equipment, and farmers continue to get hurt.

For example, tractor accidents are the leading cause of injuries and deaths for farm workers, according to the National Safety Council (NSC). The most common types of tractor accidents include:

• Rollovers–Many farmers have been injured and killed due to tractor rollovers during use.
• Entanglement–Farm workers have been seriously maimed, disfigured, and killed due to becoming entangled in farm equipment
• Getting run over by a tractor–Farm workers have been seriously injured and killed due to being thrown off the equipment and run over.

Oftentimes, these types of accidents occur due to defective or dangerous farming equipment, and the farm equipment company could be held liable.

Other types of defective or dangerous farming equipment include: bush hogs, hay rakes, hay balers, augers, grain bins, and more.

Can Missing Product Labels or Equipment Warnings be a factor?

Failure to provide mandatory labels or warnings on equipment is another major cause of farming accidents. Legally, all dangerous chemicals must be identified and properly labeled, and farming equipment must contain adequate warnings. If someone is injured or killed due to a missing product label or equipment warning, the product company or farm employer could be held responsible.

Can Farm Structure or Equipment Falls be a factor?

Many farm workers have been seriously injured and killed as a result of falling from farm structures or equipment. In addition, many farm workers have been crushed to death as a result of unstable farm structures or equipment. If someone is killed due to falling or being crushed, the farm employer, product manufacturer, or other farm employees may be at fault.

Can Improper Training be a factor?

If workers are not properly trained to use equipment, they should not be using equipment. If workers are not properly trained to use chemicals and other farming products, they should not be doing so.

Many farming accidents are avoidable. In fact, 80 percent of our farm accidents result from carelessness or failure to deal with hazards safely.

Employers are responsible for all aspects of training; and if a farm worker is injured or killed due to improper training, the employer could be held responsible.

Therefore, farm employers should provide training for workers and post signs and equipment manuals for equipment, machinery, and dangerous products that will operated or used by farm workers in order to prevent accidents and injuries.

How do you Prevent Farming Accidents?

The key to preventing farm accidents is to look out for the factors that typically contribute to an accident and address them before an accident occurs. Be critical and develop a farm safety plan before an injury or death occurs.

To learn more about farming accident prevention, check out our blog that provides tips to prevent a farming accident.

Contact a Farming Accident Attorney Today

If you have been injured as a result of a farming accident, you are urged to contact the Indianapolis Farming Accident Attorneys of Wilson Kehoe Winingham. The lawyers at WKW can help you with the next steps in pursuing a farming accident case, regardless of the type of accident. Call 317.920.6400 or fill out an online contact form for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.

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