Farm Equipment Injuries

I’m David Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana.

Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics.

Indiana is a farm state.

Agriculture is a big industry and includes not only farmers, but grain elevator operators, machinery manufacturers, and all the people who work in this sector of business.

There are many types of injuries which can occur on the farm.

Most of the agricultural machinery has safety guards in place to protect operators and those assisting the operators. However, often times the safety equipment does not work, or for a variety of reasons people end up getting injured.

Today most farm tractors have an enclosed cab, much like the inside of a car or truck. A farmer may take a child in the cab to ride the tractor with them as they pull tilling equipment around a field. But what if the cab door pops open, as the tractor hits a rough spot, causing the child to fall out and be injured? Can the manufacturer be held responsible? It will often depend upon the facts.

There are other types of equipment that can lead to injury. For example, a hay bailer is a complex machine with a lot of moving parts. Suppose a farmer reaches over a tying mechanism and his sleeve is caught in the gears. Such contact with spinning gears can result in amputation very quickly.

Consider another situation where a farmer is trying to remove a stump by wrapping a chain around the stump and pulling it with the tractor. What happens if the tractor flips and crushes the farmer or those standing nearby assisting the farmer? Is an injury of this type one where compensation can be obtained for the injury or death suffered? Would the chain manufacturer be potentially liable? Or, the tractor manufacturer? Or both?

As in most situations, the answers will depend upon the facts. But keep in mind that the statistics are very high for disabling farm injury and death claims.

Farm machinery is often extremely powerful. Sometimes safety mechanisms fail as the equipment ages. Sometimes safety equipment is bypassed.

Sometimes the equipment is so large that an operator will not be able to see around blind spots and may end up running over someone. This danger has led manufacturers to place remote Bluetooth-operated cameras at key points connected to a screen in the cab to enable the operator to essentially see around corners or see camera images when backing. But are such safety features enough? And, what if one machinery manufacturer offers such cameras, but competitors do not?

As in all equipment injury cases, the Indiana Products Liability Act will come into play. The Act applies where there is any alleged design defect in a product or a failure to provide adequate warnings or instructions regarding the use of the product or other circumstances that have led to the product being unreasonably dangerous to the ultimate users of the product.

Often you’ll find in these types of cases an injury involving a farm worker getting hurt, who is perhaps a teenager, or someone not well trained.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – While there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”