Incidents involving transport at work, falling from height, contact with machinery and contact with livestock are the most common causes of death and injury in farming today. A recent study by Oxford University shows that this has been the case as far back as the time of the Tudors. Then, as now, April to September was the time when most fatal accidents happened.
Read more at the BBC website.
The incidents highlighted below make the point that these are still happening and Roger James’s story shows the devastating effects of what can happen when things go wrong. So please remember to take care during the busy months ahead and ‘Make the Promise’ to come home safe for you and your family.
A moment’s inattention changed farmer Roger James’ life. “99 times out of 100 I wouldn’t have gone up that slope on the quad bike,’” he says. “I just wasn’t concentrating on what I was doing for those few seconds. I did it without thinking. Basically, I shouldn’t have been there.”
Roger, 49, was herding cows on his farm in Powys. Before moving the herd, he set off on his quad bike to check out the new field. With a number of tasks in mind his attention slipped, just for a moment, from steering the machine along an appropriate route.
The owner of racing stables in North Yorkshire was prosecuted after a yard worker fell more than three metres through a skylight in a stable block. The worker at Thorndale Farm near Richmond , was asked to cut down some overhanging trees above an ageing stable block , even though he had not been trained in either the use of a chainsaw or in how to work safely at height.
A countryside management firm was fined £15,0000 over the death of a father-of-four in Barrow-in-Furness, who was struck by a piece of metal that flew off a strimmer at high speed.
A Worksop man was crushed to death when a tractor overturned and landed on him during a tree felling operation. The worker was standing by the tractor, which was being used to control the direction of the falling tree as it was being felled. However, the tree fell in an unexpected direction and overturned the tractor, crushing him.
Come and meet staff from the HSE’s Agriculture Sector at Cereals 2012, which takes place on Wednesday 13th & Thursday 14th June at Boothby Graffoe, Lincolnshire. We’ll be at stand SS 124, near the sprayers’ area, with Lantra.
As of 6 April 2012, the reporting requirement in RIDDOR for over-three-day injuries has changed. The trigger point has increased from over three days’ to over seven days’ incapacitation (not counting the day on which the accident happened). Incapacitation means that the worker is absent or is unable to do work that they would reasonably be expected to do as part of their normal work.
Employers, and others with responsibilities under RIDDOR, must still keep a record of all over-three day-injuries – if the employer has to keep an accident book, then this record will be enough.
The deadline by which the over-seven-day injury must be reported has also increased to 15 days from the day of the accident.
A new leaflet Reporting accidents and incidents at work explains the change.
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