Highest rate of work related injuries in the farming industry

There are growing concerns recently for the safety of farm workers the industry accounting for only 2% of the working population but it reports the highest proportion of work related injuries.

The data for 2010-11 showed that the agricultural sector accounted for 34 fatal injuries out of the 171 reported for all the sectors. This means that the agricultural sector accounts for 1 in 5 workplace deaths. The rate of fatal incidents is 9.9 per 100,000 employees in the agricultural sector which is higher than any other industry.

For major accidents per 100,000 employees, the rate was 221.9 which is very high for such a small sector of the workforce.

Furthermore, there were not only accidents relating to the workforce but also to members of the public too. In the year 2010-11 there was 8 fatal injuries to the general public which is an increase from previous average over the last 5 years of 5. Of these fatal accidents, 3 were to people under the age of 16. There were 65 non fatal injuries to members of the public of which 17 were to people under the age of 16. A third of accidents which involved the general public were caused by animals and another third were due to moving vehicles or falling objects.

If you have suffered an injury due to an accident from working or visiting a farm you may be able to make a claim. It is important that you get independent expert legal advice, preferably as soon as possible from one of our specialist lawyers.

If you have had an accident at work and think you may have a claim, contact our specialist personal injury lawyers for immediate advice. Call Actons Solicitors free on 08081 355 355 or click here to start your claim now.