By Lewis Houston. Last Updated 10th August 2023. In this guide, we will look at the process of making a personal injury claim for injuries caused by a farm accident. You might be involved in an accident on a farm as a member of the public or as an employee. Either way, you’re owed a duty of care, either by your employer or the person in control of the farm.
Farm accident claims guide
Injuries sustained in accidents on farms can be serious. There are many large pieces of machinery that have the potential to cause harm. Furthermore, there’s a risk of things like slips, trips and falls that can also occur in other spaces.
Our advisors offer free legal advice and are available 24/7 so, if you’re unsure about claiming, please get in touch with our team at a time that suits you. They can confirm if you’re eligible and even provide a reliable compensation estimate for your injuries.
Additionally, our panel of specialised No Win No Fee personal injury solicitors could help build your case and provide you with the legal guidance required. Contact us today using the details below.
- Call us on 0800 408 7825
- Contact us using our website.
- Use the Live Chat window that’s on your screen.
Select A Section
- What Are Farm Accident Claims?
- How Dangerous Is Farming And Agriculture?
- What Are The Most Common Farm Accident?
- What Injuries Do People Get In Farm Accidents?
- Can Self Employed And Agency Farm Workers Claim?
- Farm Accident Claim Compensation Payouts
- Start Your No Win No Fee Farm Accident Claim
- Workplace Accident Resources
What Are Farm Accident Claims?
If you are thinking about making a personal injury claim following a farm accident, you’ll need to ensure that you meet the eligibility criteria:
- A relevant third party owed you a duty of care.
- This duty of care was breached.
- Due to this breach, you suffered an injury.
Typically, the occupiers of a farm have a duty of care under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 to ensure that their premises are safe for visitors, so far as is reasonably possible for them to do so. Additionally, if you work at a farm, your employer has a duty of care to take reasonable steps to protect your safety as per the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Should your employer or the occupier of a farm breach this duty of care, resulting in an accident in which you are injured, you may have valid grounds to claim.
Furthermore, as part of the farm accident claims process, you will need to take action within the correct limitation period. The Limitation Act 1980 states that you have three years from the date of your injury to bring forward a claim. However, there are exceptions to the time limit.
Contact our advisors today to see if you have a valid claim and whether a personal injury lawyer from our panel could assist you.
How Dangerous Are Farming And Agriculture?
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides statistics regarding work-related injuries in Great Britain. They published a report in July 2021 that showed how the agricultural industry had the worst rate of fatal injuries of all of the major industrial sectors.
Provisional figures from 1 April 2020 until 31 March 2021 showed that 41 people were killed in the agricultural industry. However, these statistics don’t relate to negligence so there’s no indication of how many of these injuries could lead to successful claims.
If you aren’t fatally wounded, you could still suffer serious injuries that affect your quality of life. If you’re able to prove that your injury was caused by third-party negligence, you could receive compensation for the pain and suffering caused.
What Is The Most Common Farm Accident?
You may be wondering, “what is the most common farm accident?” From the HSE report mentioned above, the five most common causes of farm accidents are:
- Being struck by a moving vehicle
- Cattle, livestock and other animal accidents
- Being struck by an object
- Falls from a height
- A machinery accident
Other reasons you may have suffered an injury from a farm accident include:
- Falling objects
- Drowning and suffocation accidents
- Hazardous substance accidents
- Noise-induced hearing loss
- Vibration injuries
The most important thing to remember is that suffering an injury on a farm doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll receive compensation. What will make your claim successful will be if you can show that your injury was caused by negligence.
For example, if you’ve fallen from a height due to your own error and suffered a head injury, you wouldn’t be able to claim. However, if you’ve fallen because the ladder supplied by the employer was faulty, you may be able to claim successfully.
Furthermore, while visiting a farm you may jam your fingers in a gate that closes heavily. If there was no sign to warn of this, you may be able to claim. However, if there was appropriate signage warning you of this risk, you’d be unlikely to be able to claim.
Agricultural accidents can happen for various reasons, but compensation will only be awarded if you can prove that a third party was liable for the damage sustained.
What Injuries Do People Get In Farm Accidents?
The types of injuries you could suffer from a farm accident can vary. Asbestos exposure, for example, can cause asbestosis, often referred to as asbestos poisoning. Working with hazardous substances could also lead to conditions such as dermatitis.
Furthermore, working on a farm could lead to you suffering from farmer’s lung. This can occur if you’re exposed to mouldy hay. It can develop over a long period of time, remaining potentially symptomless. Eventually, you can become allergic to this mould.
Your employer should put procedures in place to reduce the risk of you developing this condition. This includes providing ventilation equipment, including a dust mask, and storing the crops once they have dried sufficiently.
Some other injuries you could sustain in a farm accident include:
- Broken bones, for example, if you fall from a height or if something falls on you
- Crush injuries. These could occur because of malfunctioning machinery
- Head injury or concussion
- Damage to teeth
- Torn ligaments or tendons
This list of injuries is not exhaustive. If you’ve been injured on a farm as a result of someone breaching their duty of care towards you, you may be able to claim.
Can Self Employed And Agency Farm Workers Claim?
You may assume that you’re unable to claim for a farm accident if you’re self-employed or working through an agency. However, this is not the case.
Many farmworkers can be self-employed or undertaking agency work. However, you’re still owed a duty of care.
Even though the party you’re undertaking work for isn’t your employer, they still have a responsibility towards you to ensure your safety. If they breach this duty of care, causing you injury, you may be able to claim.
Get in touch with an advisor from our team today for more information on agency worker farm accident claims. You could be connected with a No Win No Fee lawyer from our panel.
Farm Accident Claim Compensation Payouts
When making a personal injury claim, any physical and psychological injury you’ve suffered from the accident can be compensated for through general damages.
Farm accidents can lead to very serious injuries. Your potential compensation for general damages is based on factors such as the extent of the injury, how negatively it has impacted your life and if any serious or permanent side effects have been caused.
Legal professionals use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to provide clients with a better idea of what they could receive for general damages. The latest 2022 guidelines have supplied the compensation brackets that you see below.
Please remember that these figures are just guidelines and should not be taken as a guarantee. Many different factors can determine a compensation amount during a claim.
| Type of Injury | Amount of Compensation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Moderate Brain Damage (iii) | £43,060 to £90,720 | Cases in this bracket have resulted in the injured person suffering from memory and concentration issues as well as a reduction in their ability to work. |
| Severe Back Injury (iii) | £38,780 to £69,730 | In this bracket, the injured person will suffer from disc fractures, disc lesions or soft tissue injuries that lead to chronic conditions. |
| Serious Hand Injury | £29,000 to £61,910 | Injuries in this bracket will have reduced the capacity of the hand to around 50 per cent. |
| Moderately Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | £23,150 to £59,860 | In this bracket, the injured person will suffer from significant disabilities for the foreseeable future but will have a better prognosis than the higher bracket due to responding positively to professional help. |
| Wrist Injury | £24,500 to £39,170 | Injuries in this bracket result in disability that is significant and permanent but where useful movement can still be performed. |
| Moderate Neck Injury (i) | £24,990 to £38,490 | Cases in this bracket have caused a soft tissue or wrenching-type injury and a severe type of disc lesion that results in cervical spondylosis. |
| Eye Injury (g) | £9,110 to £20,980 | Injuries in this bracket cause a permanent but minor vision impairment to one or both eyes. |
| Chest Injury (e) | £5,320 to £12,590 | Injuries in this bracket are caused by smoke inhalation or toxic fumes leading to residual damage. |
| Moderate or Minor Elbow Injury | Up to £12,590 | The majority of elbow injuries fall into this bracket. They include tennis elbow syndrome, lacerations and simple fractures. |
| Clavicle Injury | £5,150 to £12,240 | The award for the injury in this bracket will depend on how badly the clavicle has been fractured, the residual symptoms and the level of disability caused. |
As part of a farm accident claim, you could also receive compensation for any financial losses created as a result of the injury. Potential losses you could claim for include travel expenses, medical fees, lost earnings, and home adjustments. You would need sufficient evidence to prove the amounts you’re wanting to claim for. This includes supplying evidence like invoices, receipts, and bank statements.
Would you like a compensation estimate relating to your injury? If so, please contact us for free using the above details.
Start Your No Win No Fee Farm Accident Claim
You may be wondering about the benefits of using a personal injury solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis. They include:
- Not being asked to pay upfront or ongoing legal fees
- Not being asked to pay your solicitor if your claim is unsuccessful.
Instead, a small, legally-capped success fee will be deducted from your compensation if the claim is successful. This will be set out with you before the claim starts.
Our advisors can be reached at no charge whatsoever, are available 24/7 and can provide you with a reliable compensation estimate in just one phone call. They can tell you if you’re eligible to claim for a farm accident and can even connect you with a solicitor from our panel. They have a wealth of personal injury claim experience and can provide their services on a No Win No Fee basis.
You can contact them using the details below.
- Call us on 0800 408 7825
- Contact us using our website.
- Use the Live Chat window that’s on your screen.
Workplace Accident Resources
Use the links below to learn more about claiming for a farm accident.
The HSE also provides advice on agriculture health and safety, which you can find on their website.
Farmwise is a useful health and safety guide for agriculture. View this webpage to read.
If you’d like to know more about electrical safety in farming and forestry, view this page.
If you’ve suffered a knee injury from an accident at work, view our website to see if you can claim.
Have you suffered a hand injury and want to know more about how to claim? If so, view this webpage.
You may have also suffered an eye injury from an accident on a farm. Read this guide to see if you can claim.
Thank you for reading this guide on claiming for a farm accident. If you’d like to know more, contact us using the details above.