Personal injury news

One in five work accidents suffered by farm workers

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is holding an agricultural safety day to try to reduce the number of personal injuries which farm workers suffer each year.

New statistics have revealed that a farm worker is killed or seriously injured in Cumbria every 18 days.

The safety event, to be held in Penrith, is one of a series of training days aimed at agricultural workers and employers around the country, following the announcement of alarming personal injury statistics for farmers.

The latest official figures show that 26 workers were killed and another 589 suffered major injuries in farming accidents across the UK during 2008/9, including three deaths and 36 serious injuries in the North West.

The most common causes of agricultural work accidents involved vehicles, being hit by a moving or falling object and falls from height. HSE research has found that the majority of farmers make at least one change to improve health and safety as a result of attending a Health and Safety Awareness Day.

The safety events are aimed at improving the industry's particularly high personal injury rate, which currently accounts for one in five of all work-related deaths in the UK, despite only 1.5% of the population working in the industry.