Agricultural Industry and Farm Worker’s Risk of Serious Injury or Death
Farming is a way of life for many of us here in Indiana and Illinois. In fact, our state economies hinge upon the continued success of the local agricultural industry. Agriculture generates an estimated $31.2 Billion for the State of Indiana each year, for instance. Meanwhile, Illinois is first (1st) in the nation in processed food sales (annual revenue of $180 Billion).
Prevalence of Farmland and Farms in Illinois and Indiana
Drive around our part of the country, and most of what you will see is farmland. The Illinois Department of Agriculture (DOA) confirms that around 75% of the state’s total land area is made up of Illinois farms. According to the Indiana DOA, Hoosier farmland (together with forests and woodland) makes up 80% of the state, with Indiana being third (3rd) in the country for the number of acres where crops are planted each year. And our land is known to be good for farming. Illinois’s DOA reports that 89% of Illinois land is considered to be “prime farmland.”
Many of the farms in our part of the country are family-owned or operated. Local farms in Indiana and Illinois are often small farms of several hundred acres, where families work together to build a life around their crops and livestock. (The average farm in Indiana is 264 acres; Illinois farms average 375 acres.)
Farming in Indiana and Illinois: a Very Dangerous Livelihood
While technological advances have made farming less dependent upon human labor, farmers still work hard, have long hours, and often are required to undertake dangerous tasks as part of their everyday duties. In fact, although farming brings with it a picturesque reputation and remains a beloved part of the American culture, the agricultural industry is in reality an extremely dangerous workplace and the risk of death in farming operations is shockingly high.
As we have discussed before, the risk of dying while on the job for a farmer is great. Studies confirm that agriculture is one of most dangerous industries for death on the job. Researchers also warn that current data on this matter may be under-reported by as much as 700%, making the job of farming in Indiana and Illinois perhaps having the highest risk of fatality.
Read, “Accident Dangers for Indiana Agricultural Workers: Farming, Fishing, Hunting, Forestry.”
Deadly Dangers Faced by Farmers
All sorts of activities during the farmer’s day can result in serious injury or death. Much of farming and agriculture brings hazards with it. Farmers must work with toxic chemicals. They have to operate complex and heavy farm equipment. They drive huge and cumbersome vehicles, including trucks and tractors. Storing crops brings specific dangers as well, including risks involved with grain elevators and mills. Deadly falls are a risk they must face, as well as injuries from animals, defective equipment, and faulty gear.
Lack of Protection: OSHA Does Not Apply to Small Farms
Usually, when someone dies in an accident on the job in Indiana or Illinois, fellow workers and grieving loved ones can look to government investigators, who arrive on the scene to determine the cause of death and whether or not the company employer or a third party (product manufacturer, etc.) is responsible for what has occurred.
Investigating the cause of death in an on-the-job work accident is the job entrusted by Congress to OSHA, as we have discussed in more detail in:
- OSHA Pushes Employers on Reporting On the Job Injuries: Will Workers Be Safer at Work?
- OSHA and Work-Related Accident Claims in Indiana and Illinois
- OSHA’s Top Ten Serious or Willful Violations of Worker Safety Laws.
However, a recent media investigation has spotlighted a legal exception to OSHA fatality investigations: the agency does not look into farms with a maximum of ten (10) employees. Small farms are exempted by an annual rider to the federal budget, which has been renewed each year since 1976.
Read: “Small Farms Immune to Safety Investigations, Even When a Worker Dies,” written by Eli Wolfe and published by Salon on May 2, 2020, and originally published by Fair Warning on April 23, 2020.
As the reporter points out, a young man run over by heavy machinery on a chicken farm; a teenager who perished when he made the mistake of driving a skid steer into a pit; a man who suffocated in a grain container – these are just a few examples of farming fatalities that escaped investigation into their causes because of the OSHA budgetary exclusion.
Claims for Justice after a Farming Accident in Indiana or Illinois
The reality that small farms are not subject to OSHA investigation should there be a serious injury (including amputation or traumatic brain injury) or fatal accident makes the availability of civil claims for justice all the more vital for farmers in our part of the country.
Small farmers and their families who have suffered a severe injury or fatality because of a farming accident may have claims and causes of action based upon negligence, product liability, premises liability, defective products, and more.
Accident investigations undertaken on behalf of the farming injury victim may discover a failure in the legal duty of care placed upon landowners, machinery manufacturers, equipment maintenance companies, third party operators (grain elevators, etc.) and more.
For more on farming-related accidents, read:
- Amputation Injuries from On-the-Job Work Accidents in Indiana or Illinois
- Grain Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Danger of Death in Engulfment, Entrapment, or Explosion
- Worker Fatalities: What are the Most Dangerous Jobs in 2019?
- Winter ATV, UTV, ROV, and OHV Accidents in Indiana and Illinois
- Slip and Fall Accidents in the Workplace: Severe Injury or Death on the Job
If you or a loved one has been the victim of a small farm injury in Indiana or Illinois, it is vital that you understand the limited oversight of farming accidents in this country. Seeking information about your particular circumstances and how state personal injury, worker’s compensation, or wrongful death laws may help you in your cause for justice. Please be careful out there!
