According to the National Ag Safety Database, a third of farmworkers have experienced non-fatal injuries. The CDC also reported 410 farmer and farmworker deaths in 2019, along with deaths of 19.4 per 100,000 farmworkers.
These statistics are alarming and may make you wonder what’s causing often-preventable injuries and fatalities. We’ve included some of the most common causes below.
Defective Farming Equipment
Expert legal teams like Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers have been part of many farmworker personal injury claims, with defective farming equipment being one of the leading causes. If companies produce and distribute dangerous and faulty equipment with inadequate safety features, farmworkers can be in a great deal of danger.
Among the most common injuries relating to farm equipment are rollovers in tractors, entanglement in equipment, and being run over or thrown off equipment. When equipment has been determined to be defective or faulty, farmworkers may be able to hold the company producing or supplying it to account.
Inadequate or Missing Warning Labels
Farmworkers regularly surround themselves with dangerous equipment like tractors and even hazardous chemicals. Even when you work with these items all the time, that doesn’t mean you’re fully aware of their dangers.
Sometimes, that’s because these products and farm equipment have inadequate warning labels or none at all. If it can be determined that a farm owner or the product manufacturer failed to provide appropriate warning labels and you were injured as a result, you may be able to file a personal injury claim for compensation for your subsequent injuries.
Unstable Equipment and Structures
Crush injuries are all too common, with many farmworkers being crushed under unstable farm equipment and even structures. It can be hard to prove fault in such an incident, but with the right legal assistance, you can gather evidence to support the idea that a farm employer, product manufacturer, or even other employees, were at fault for crush injuries caused by the unstable structure or equipment.
Common Farm Worker Injuries
The unfortunate reality is that farming is a hazardous injury, and several serious injury types are common through everyday jobs like tractor work and harvesting. Among the most common farm accidents that can result in death are:
- Overturned heavy machinery
- Suffocation
- Lethal exposure to toxic chemicals
- Falls
- Animal-related injuries
- Head injuries
- Back and neck injuries
- Crush injuries
- Heat stress
Many of these injuries can also relate to the use of farm tools like tractors, mowers, harvesters, plows, and hay balers, resulting in further injuries such as burns, amputation, electrocution, and fractures.
What to Do About Farm Worker Accidents
When you’re injured in a farm accident as a farmworker, it’s not always easy to know what to do next. You may be employed by someone and may not know what your rights are around requesting time off work to heal or receiving payment for your hospital treatment.
Consult personal injury lawyers who can walk you through the entire process. You may be entitled to compensation for past and future lost wages, medical expenses, disability, pain and suffering, disfigurement, and more.
We may know the most common causes of farm accidents, but navigating through the legal system after they occur can be unfamiliar territory. Now might be the right time to discuss accident types, common fark worker injuries and possible compensation types with your chosen personal injury lawyer.
