Accident on the Farm

It’s no accident that the Test Valley is a quite stunning place to live.  We must thank our farmers, who work hard all year round to maintain the beauty of the agricultural landscape where we are privileged to work, rest and play.  The region is undergoing its seasonal transformation as its farmers, including the stunning Leckford Estate (the Waitrose Farm), bring in their annual cereal crops of wheat, barley, oats and oilseed rape. But unbeknownst to a grateful public, the BBC reports that farming is the UKs deadliest industry.  Who knew? The report, which analysed the recently released workplace accident data from the Health and Safety Executive, which we wrote about here last month in ‘HSE releases fatal accident at work figures for 2018/19’, found that whilst only 360,000 people work in the industry (just 1% of the UK workforce), 20% of all fatal accidents occur in farming. This equates to around 30 deaths per year. The HSE data includes the following worrying evidence about the risks to older male workers:

• In 2018/19, 139 (95%) of all worker fatalities were to male workers
• 25% of fatal injuries in 2018/19 were to workers aged 60 and over, even though such workers made up only around 10% of the workforce

A representative for the HSE told the BBC that agriculture generally was "an industry in which risks are poorly managed.  It is a challenge to get parts of this industry, which is characterised by a lack of large companies, to accept that they are not managing risks well" Jack Fisher, whose father Peter was killed in a farming accident, advises other farmers like him to be far more risk averse: "Take your time - slow down, and make sure stuff's done properly, because once you're gone you're gone and that's it, there's no second chance." The BBC report can be found here: Farming: The UKs deadliest industry Grant Evatt Alma Law Grant is an accredited personal injury solicitor.  He has specialised in workplace accident claims for almost two decades and he is an expert in this complex area.