Injury Lawyer warns about the dangers down on the farm

An injury lawyer who is also a farmer has sent out a plea to his fellow farmers not to turn a blind eye to health and safety on the farm in a bid to reduce the thousands of deaths and personal injuries taking place on British farms each year.

In a press release on the Association of Personal <a onClick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/article_exit_link');" href="http://www.accidentsdirect.com/injury-lawyers.aspx">injury lawyers</a> (APIL) website, Stephen Lawson, who is also secretary of the APIL, said current figures taken from the health and safety executive show a farmer is killed almost every week, and thousands more are putting their lives on the line by ignoring the importance of health and safety.

"As a lawyer and a farmer, I see both sides of the fence," he said. "I see the devastation which follows an injury or death to a worker, and I also know that many tragedies can be avoided if proper attention is given to health and safety."

Stephen says the farming industry has a culture of dangerous risk-taking as many workers are resistant to regulation and red tape, and safety is not generally regarded as integral to good farm management.

"I firmly believe that health and safety does not have to be onerous – it’s about sensible precautions and common sense," said Stephen. "As the majority of farms are family run, workers are often shown how to do the job by the previous generation so it’s important that training and safety practices are updated and maintained through the generations."

"As a farmer, the last thing I want to do is lecture other farmers," he said, "but I feel very strongly that something has to be done to reduce the number of deaths and injuries within our industry. It’s our responsibility not to bury our heads in the sand and ignore health and safety – we need to start creating safer workplaces for ourselves, our families and our employees."

Nearly 50 percent of all farming deaths in 2007/2008 could well have been avoided. The statistics from the HSE show that nearly 50 percent of the deaths were vehicle or falling object related, meaning that if more stringent measures were in place some of those deaths could have been avoided.

The stats have also shown that the winter months are particularly dangerous for farmers - having to contend with machinery, unstable weather and animals is most definitely a dangerous mix. The report concluded by saying that over the last 10 years there has not been a drop in the number of fatalities nor has the causes of death changed, showing that little has been done to change the amount of injuries and deaths on farms.

This means that farmers across the UK are not learning from past mistakes. HSE board member Judith Donavan said "The latest statistics highlight that farming is dangerous and now in these difficult financial times, farmers might be tempted to take risks to save money by cutting back on help or taking shortcuts. We want to make farmers, their families and their helpers to stop and think about how they can be aware of the dangers around them."

So as injury lawyers warn of the dangers of farming, many farmers will be feeling the pinch, meaning that there could be a rise in the number of risks being taken despite the warnings from the HSE and Stephen Lawson.