A series of farming-related deaths has led to the HSE Executive issuing a plea to farmers to review their health and safety policies. The 3 deaths reinforce that farming is still a very dangerous profession even though deaths fell in the industry last year.
The HSE Executive has released the details of 3 separate farming incidents that have led to the deaths of 3 workers.
3 farm workers were killed in 3 separate incidents
A farm worker was killed when they were struck by a falling concrete slab at the end of January in Dorset whilst another worker was killed when they fell from an unsecured wooden crate lifted by a forklift at the start of February. This incident occurred in Cheshire.
The third incident saw a young farmworker killed when he was trapped between the chassis and body of a descending trailer. The accident happened in Wakefield, Yorkshire.
Farming as a profession is still ranked amongst the highest when it comes to deaths and injury and is an example of an industry where health hand safety is crucial.
In an interview with Farmers Weekly, NFU deputy president Stuart Roberts reinforced that whilst progress has been made more needs to be done to safeguard workers in the profession.
We need to all take responsibility not only for our own actions but also the actions of our colleagues, friends, neighbours and relatives.”: Stuart Roberts
Preventable deaths are a reminder that whilst great strides have been made in health and safety more needs to be done to keep workers safe.
Deaths can be due to a variety of issues including human error, which can often occur in tandem with mechanical failures that create the ‘perfect storm’ for accidents to occur.
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