Involved in an Accident as a Farmer?
Being involved in an accident, regardless of how serious the farm accident was, can be a traumatic experience – whether you have sustained any injuries or not. In cases where you are involved in an accident that was not your fault, there may be a legal remedy.
Common Farm Accident Claims*
An accident while working on a farm is an all too common occurrence, which can lead to people sustaining injuries. Accidents can happen in any industry but some employees are more at risk than others. Farming may be seen as a high risk profession due to the handling of such large and sometimes complicated machinery.
The most common farming accident claims are:
What do I do if I'm involved in a farm accident?
Following a farming accident, there are a number of steps you should follow:
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Seek medical attention
Your health is your wealth and should be your first priority. Immediately after a farming accident, take a second to assess yourself to determine if you have any injuries. Then check if anybody else involved in the accident need medical attention. If you or anyone else involved has sustained a serious injury ensure that you contact an ambulance to attend the scene.
For minor injuries, you must remember that minor injuries where you ‘feel fine’ could progress to more serious injuries in the future. In this case it is always better to be safe than sorry and advisable that you go to your nearest accident and emergency (A&E) or local GP to be checked out.
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Report the accident
It is critical to report the accident to your superior, i.e. a supervisor or manager on site. It doesn’t matter how small you think the accident may be. By law, accidents at work are required to be reported if the person is injured and can’t perform their daily work tasks for more than three days. Make sure to fill out an Accident Report Form. This can be used for reference in any medical examination and will also prevent any similar accidents from happening in the future.
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Identify any witnesses
If possible, try to collect the contact details of anybody that witnessed your accident. This may be of use if you do decide to pursue a farm accident claim. It is also useful to find out if there is any CCTV in the area where your accident happened.
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Document the incident
It is important that you collect all the relevant information in connection with your accident:
- How the accident happened
- Details of any witnesses
- If there are any CCTV recordings of your accident
- Take pictures of where the accident happened and what caused your accident
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Speak to a farm accident claims solicitor
If you are considering moving forward with a farming accident claim for any personal injuries sustained, it is advisable that you speak with a farm accident claims solicitor as soon as possible. If you are proceeding with a claim, the first step will be submitting your claim to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board for assessment. A farm accident solicitor can help you in preparing your application to the Injuries Board and ensure that you follow the process in the correct format, meaning that you can move forward with your claim quickly without unnecessary delays.
It is important to remember to keep copies of any expenses that you have incurred as a result of the accident. It is also imperative to retain copies of medical reports or incident report forms where possible as you will need them when making a claim.