Falls from height
Falling from height is one of the main causes of fatal accidents in agriculture. Many accidents involving falls happen while agricultural buildings or other farm structures are being built or maintained. These jobs typically involve working at height and require some form of temporary access to height; for example, ladders, scaffolds or other temporary working platforms.
Falls frequently occur because no precautions are taken, or any equipment that is used is defective, not appropriate, or is used incorrectly. Often people about to do a job believe it will 'only take a few minutes', and take a risk in the hope that simply being careful will be enough.
The case studies in this section have been grouped into the five main categories of fall from height accidents: