Agricultural Accident Claims – A Guide to Claiming Compensation

Agricultural staff can face numerous dangers every time they go to work. They include the risks of working with animals and heavy machinery. However, if you work in the agricultural industry, those risks should never be considered as part and parcel of your role. Instead, your employer should do all they can to try and prevent you from being injured. If they don’t, and you’re injured as a result, you might be entitled to seek compensation for any injuries sustained. Therefore, we’ve answered many of the most common questions about agricultural accident claims within this guide.

We can also help you understand your options by offering free legal advice about agricultural compensation claims as part of a no-obligation consultation. Additionally, we could appoint one of our specialist lawyers to represent you if your claim is strong enough and you decide to proceed with a claim. If that is the case, you’ll be represented on a No Win, No Fee basis to minimise the financial risks of taking legal action.

To find out more about how we could help you to claim compensation for an agricultural accident, you can:

• Call our team on 0333 241 2519 to speak with a specialist.
• Discuss your case with one of our online advisors night or day.

We’ve provided lots of answers about agriculture claims within this guide but please feel free to call if you need any further information.

Can I Make an Agricultural Accident Claim?

Employers in the agricultural industry have a duty of care to try and protect their staff from workplace injuries. That means they should:

• Carry out regular health and safety risk assessments.
• Train staff on how to use hazardous chemicals and ensure they are stored correctly.
• Train staff on handling livestock.
• Keep any machinery or vehicles in a good state of repair.
• Check barns, mills, slurry pits and other buildings to ensure they’re as safe as possible.

If your employer fails to uphold their duty of care (as set out by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974), you might be entitled to claim compensation. The criteria that solicitors will usually check before accepting agricultural accident claims are:

1. Did your employer owe you a duty of care at the point of your accident?
2. Were you involved in an agricultural accident caused by your employer’s negligence?
3. Can you prove your injuries were sustained during that accident?

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of an agricultural accident, you can call our team today to check if you could be entitled to claim compensation.

Types of Agricultural Accident Claims We Can Help With

We can’t list every type of agricultural accident claim we could help claim compensation for in this guide but we’ve listed a few example scenarios in this section that could apply:

• Farm accidents.
• Machinery accidents (tractors, combines, etc.).
• Animal handling injuries.
• Chemical exposure (pesticides, fertilizers).
• Falls from height (barns, silos).
• Equipment malfunctions.
• Grain storage accidents (suffocation, engulfment).
• Vehicle accidents.
• Confined Space Incidents (silos, manure pits etc).

If you’ve been injured whilst working in agriculture, call our team to check your options for free.

Fatal Injuries in Agriculture

According to government statistics, 27 people died as a result of agriculture, forestry and fishing-related incidents in 2022/23. While no amount of compensation will make it easier for you to cope without a loved one, it could make dealing with the financial consequences a bit easier.

If you work with one of our No Win, No Fee solicitors, they could secure compensation to cover:

• Loss of earnings if you were financially dependent on the deceased’s income.
• Funeral expenses.
• Loss of companionship.
• Any pain and suffering endured by the deceased before their death.

Please feel free to call at any point if you’d like to know more about how we can help.

What Should I Do After an Agricultural Accident?

If you do have an accident in an agricultural setting, you should:

• Call an ambulance or attend A&E to have any injuries assessed and treated as soon as possible.
• Tell your employer about the accident as soon as you’re able to.
• Ensure the accident is recorded in the accident report book.

Some agricultural accidents will be reportable under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013. While this won’t be down to you (in most cases), you should comply with any investigation conducted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

What Evidence Is Needed to Prove Agricultural Accident Claims?

Providing evidence that proves why and how your accident occurred is vital in any type of personal injury claim. It should also prove how badly your injuries have affected you.

Some examples of the types of evidence that could help in agricultural compensation claims include:

• Photographs that show the cause of the accident.
• A copy of any x-rays and medical records to prove your injuries.
• Details of anyone else who saw the accident occur.
• A completed accident report form to prove when and where the accident happened.
• CCTV footage of the accident if it occurred in front of a security camera.

We will assess any evidence you have to support your agricultural accident claim as part of your free initial consultation so please have it read when you call.

How Long Do I Have to Claim Compensation?

The Limitation Act 1980 sets a 3-year time limit for personal injury claims in the UK. In most agricultural accident claims, this will commence on the date of the accident.

There is one exception to this rule that applies if the injured party lacks the mental capacity to manage the claims process. Here, the time limit is essentially paused until such time they regain capacity. However, if that’s unlikely someone else could deal with the claim by becoming a litigation friend.

To find out how long you have left to claim or to discuss helping someone else claim for agricultural injuries, please get in touch.

How Much Compensation for an Agriculture Accident?

If you win an agricultural accident at work claim, you may be awarded compensation to cover:

• The pain, suffering and loss of amenity caused by any physical or psychological injuries.
• Any financial losses.

To ascertain how much suffering you’ve endured, your solicitor will request copies of your medical records and may arrange for an independent medical report to be completed.

Some of the financial losses that could be covered by a successful claim include:

• Medical expenses.
• The cost of making adaptations to your home (or vehicle) to give you a better quality of life if you’ve been left disabled.
• Travel expenses.
• The cost of care and support at home.
• Lost earnings. This can include future losses for longer-term injuries.

If you would like us to value your agricultural compensation claim, please call our team today.

Can I Claim Compensation if I Was Injured by Faulty Agricultural Equipment?

Agricultural equipment and machinery can be very dangerous. Therefore, employers need to ensure that it is:

• Fit for purpose.
• Maintained according to the manufacturer’s guidelines.
• Repaired if faults are spotted.

These actions form part of their duty of care towards your safety. Therefore, if a faulty piece of agricultural equipment has led to you being injured and your employer is to blame, you could be entitled to begin a personal injury claim.

What If I’m Not a Full-Time Employee?

Whether you’re employed full-time, part-time, on a zero-hours contract or as a subcontractor, your employer still has a duty to try and keep you as safe as possible while you’re at work.

Therefore, the type of employment contract you have will not affect your ability to make an agricultural accident claim if your injuries can be proven to have been caused by your employer’s negligence.

Call us today if you’d like us to review your case for you and clarify your options.

Will I Need a Solicitor to Claim Compensation?

The process of making an accident at work claim can be difficult and involve complex legal and medical evidence. Therefore, while you’re not obliged to have legal representation, having a specialist solicitor on your side can make everything a lot easier.

If you work with a solicitor from our team, they will:

• Help to find the evidence needed to present as strong a case as possible.
• Ensure the claim is filed correctly and on time.
• Communicate with your employer’s insurance provider so you don’t need to.
• Try to contest any objections raised by the insurer by providing additional evidence where needed.
• Keep you up to date about the progress of your claim.

Importantly, our solicitors work under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) when managing agricultural accident claims. This means you’ll benefit from a No Win, No Fee service because:

• There are no upfront payments needed for your solicitor’s work.
• You won’t need to pay anything for your solicitor’s work if the claim fails.
• You’ll only pay a success fee if you receive a compensation payout.

The percentage of your compensation that can be taken as a success fee is legally capped at 25 per cent when using a CFA. Therefore, you will always retain the bulk of any settlement you receive.

How Long Do Agricultural Accident Claims Take?

While there are pre-action protocols for personal injury claims that define the way in which claims are handled, there are no set timeframes for resolving the case. That’s because all claims are unique and have to be properly assessed before being finalised.

In some cases, agricultural claims can be settled in around 6 months or so. This would require you to have recovered from any injuries and for your employer to accept that they caused the accident right away.

However, if you’ve not fully recovered or if your employer denies liability for the accident, your claim could take more than a year to resolve. In some cases, where liability has been accepted but more time is required to learn the full extent of your injuries, interim compensation could be paid to help with any immediate financial implications.

Will I Have to Go to Court?

It is quite rare for workplace accident claims to be dealt with in court, in our experience. Mainly, that’s because law firms and insurers know how time-consuming and expensive they can be.

However, it’s still possible. If that happens in your case, the court will first decide whether your employer caused your accident and, if they did, they’ll also decide what amount of compensation they will pay.

If you work with one of our solicitors and your case does need to go to court, they’ll support you from start to finish.

Contacting Us About an Agricultural Accident Claim

To speak to us about whether you’ve got a valid claim, you can:

• Call us on 0333 241 2519 and speak to a specialist.
• Connect to our live chat service any time of day or night.

Remember, we provide free legal advice during a no-obligation consultation. Also, all agricultural accident claims handled by our solicitors are managed on a No Win No Fee basis.