Falls from height

The second biggest cause of death in agriculture

Whilst campaigns such as the NFU’s Farm Safety Week have done much to raise awareness of the dangers of farming, the UK’s agriculture sector has the highest workplace death and injury rate of all the main industry sectors with a fatal injury rate 18 times higher than the All Industry rate. This is hardly surprising given the potential hazards that a typical farm worker encounters on a daily basis; machinery, vehicles, livestock, working at height and chemicals all pose risks, risks which are compounded by the weather, fatigue and time pressures which beleaguer the farming industry.

Falls from height is the second biggest cause of death in agriculture and one of the most common causes of non-fatal injury. With roofs, lofts, ladders, vehicles and bale stacks all featuring on the average operating farm, working from height cannot necessarily be avoided, but the risk of falls from height can be significantly reduced if rigorous health and safety practices are implemented and maintained on-farm.

In this article we examine falls from height in agriculture in the context of key legislation and recent case law and the implications not only for those employers responsible for ensuring that adequate health and safety practices are adopted and followed, but also for the farm workers for whom the law is intended to protect.

The law

The starting point for compliance is the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (“the 1974 Act”) which is the primary piece of legislation covering workplace health and safety in Great Britain. Under the 1974 Act, all employers are required to take all reasonable steps to protect their employees’ health and safety at work. In fact, the duty of care extends beyond employees and also includes contractors and visitors, for example.

In order to discharge their statutory duties of care under the 1974 Act, employers must carry out a thorough risk assessment and put in place the measures which are necessary to control any risks to health and safety which are identified in that assessment.

In addition to the 1974 Act, an employer is also bound by the Work at Height Regulations 2005. Under these Regulations, an employer (or indeed any person responsible for controlling work at height (e.g. a site manager)) must carry out a risk assessment of all unavoidable work at height and ensure that any such work is properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people. This includes providing suitable equipment for the work as well as any necessary training.

There is obviously a broad spectrum of work at height ranging from the most dangerous (such as roof work) through to low height work of short duration (such cleaning gutters) and the measures that may be suitable for one low-risk task may not be suitable for a more hazardous one. For example, whilst the use of ladders and stepladders is not prohibited in the work place, the Health and Safety Executive’s guidance unequivocally states that they should only be used for low risk tasks and for no more than 30 minutes at a time.

The application of the law as it relates to working at height and specifically in relation to the use of ladders was recently illustrated in the tragic case of a young man who was catastrophically injured when he fell head long from a ladder whilst working on a retaining wall on the family farm. The man sustained spinal injuries which left him tetraplegic and confined to a wheelchair for life.

The case brought by the young man against the family partnership which owns the farm was that the accident had been caused by health and safety breaches, namely that the ladder was unsuitable for the work in question (taking into account the height, task and state of the ground at the time) and that the young man had been unsupervised throughout. Primary liability was admitted by the insurers who agreed to pay £6.6 million in settlement of the young man’s claim.

Practical issues…

Sadly cases such as the one highlighted above are not rare and as the facts reveal, the consequences of not maintaining good health and safety practices on farms can be severe not only for the injured parties and their families but also for the employers. Our specialist agricultural lawyers are able to provide legal advice and support to either party in the aftermath of a health and safety breach.

…for the employer

Aside from any claim for compensation brought by the injured party, those found responsible for the breach also face the prospect of a criminal conviction and a fine. Since guidelines for the sentencing of health and safety cases were introduced in 2016, there has been an increase both in the volume and levels of fines issued in these cases. Our farming health and safety/regulatory team is experienced in advising farmers as to their legal obligations and we can also advise in situations where there has been a suspected breach and a HSE investigation/prosecution is pending/on-going.

…for the injured party

An injured farm worker may be reluctant to bring a claim against the employer out of loyalty, or it because he is a family member. That should not matter where there is insurance involved. The NFU Mutual, often the insurer in these cases, frequently encourages the injured person or their family to seek legal advice and representation. Pursuing a compensation claim can also be daunting, but our specialist personal injury legal team will talk the injured party through the whole process and provide support throughout. The team has expertise in managing cases where the injuries sustained are life changing, often for both the injured party and family. In addition to securing compensation, our lawyers can also help their clients to access the best medical treatment and rehabilitation services from some of the country’s top clinicians.