We all need to eat the right food. But it doesn’t start and stop at the dinner table. Farmers have to put in lots of work to ensure that there is food available. Besides the effort, farming can be a risky undertaking, which explains why a considerable number of workers are often hurt on farms. That said, this article looks at some common farm accidents and how they take place.
Falls
There are times when you have to work on top of a structure such as a silo. While some unexpected falls can leave you with minor injuries, others often turn out to be fatal. In most instances, falling off a ladder or tumbling down the stairs often leads to skeletal injuries. Injuries resulting from falls often subject you to the risk of suffering from a condition such as osteoarthritis of knee, which affects your mobility a great deal. Wearing safety shoes with decent grip, however, can reduce the chances of slipping and being injured.
Entanglement
Some farm activities involve handling machinery. Most farm machines have many moving parts. And this puts you at risk of injuries resulting from entanglement. Annually, hundreds of fingers, hands, or arms are lost from entanglement. The leading cause of these injuries is the loss of concentration while operating machinery. It could be when you are trying to get something from a combine harvester or a tractor, only to have your hand trapped. Of course, the key to avoiding such injuries is to embrace safety measures when working on machinery.
Animal Injuries
Anyone working at a farm with animals is at risk of injury. Although these accidents are not as common as other types, they can cause serious injuries or fatalities. A kick from a horse or a cow, for instance, should be avoided at all costs. This does not mean that people working with smaller animals are safe either. The only way farm owners and their employees can avoid these injuries is to avoid being lax with safety procedures.
Overturning Machinery
Statistics of farm injuries indicate that overturning tractors are among the leading causes of fatalities stemming from farms. It is quite common to have tractors overturn while tilling land which has steep topography. While tractors and other four-wheelers might have a cab, you also need to wear your seatbelt. As thousands of older tractors do not have seatbelts and with the reluctance of operators to wear them, statistics resulting from injuries due to overturning machinery might not change anytime soon.
Injuries take place on farms every day, especially during the planting and harvesting seasons. Workers need to embrace all safety measures. Employers, on the other hand, should be vigilant enough as negligence can be grounds for a personal injury claim.
