Farm Accident Claims: Injured Working on a Farm and What You Can Claim

A farm accident claim is a personal injury claim against the farm owner, employer or contractor responsible for the machinery, animals, vehicles or working practice that caused your injury; agriculture has the worst fatal injury rate of any UK industry, the employer's duty of care applies to employed, seasonal, contract and self-employed workers alike, and National Accident Support Line assesses whether you have a claim and refers it to a specialist solicitor on a no win no fee basis.

Farms are family businesses, often small, and the person who owns the tractor is often the person who pays your wages and lives next door. That is why so few farm injuries turn into claims. It is worth knowing two things. The claim is paid by the farm's liability insurance, which the business is required to hold, not by the family. And the injuries are not small: agriculture accounts for around one in five workplace deaths in Great Britain each year with a fraction of the workforce, and the ones that don't kill can end a working life.

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Who is responsible for a farm accident

Whoever controlled the risk. For an employed farm worker that is the farmer or the farming company, who must provide safe machinery that is guarded and maintained, training on every machine and vehicle used, safe handling arrangements for livestock, proper working-at-height equipment for roof and loft work, and protection from chemicals and dust. For a contractor or self-employed worker the duty is owed by whoever controls the site and the equipment. For a vet, a delivery driver or a visitor, it is the occupier of the farm. Where a machine was defective from new, the manufacturer may share responsibility. Where a vehicle was involved on a public road, it may also be a road traffic claim.

The accidents that happen on farms

Cause	Typical injuries	What usually went wrong
Tractors, telehandlers, quad bikes and ATVs	Crush injuries, fractures, head injuries, overturns	No training, no roll-over protection, no helmet, unsafe loads or slopes
Moving machinery: PTO shafts, balers, augers, combines	Amputation, entanglement, severe lacerations	Missing guards, clearing blockages with the machine running
Livestock: cattle, bulls, pigs, horses	Crush injuries, fractures, kicks, trampling	Poor handling facilities, working alone with cattle and calves
Falls from height: roofs, lofts, bale stacks, trailers	Spinal and head injuries, fractures	Fragile roof sheets, no edge protection, no fall arrest
Falling objects and collapsing stacks	Crush injuries	Unsafe stacking, bale handling
Chemicals, slurry and dust	Poisoning, gas exposure, respiratory disease, farmer's lung	No respiratory protection, slurry pit gases, no training
Slips and trips in yards and sheds	Fractures, back injuries	Slurry, ice, uneven surfaces, poor lighting

What a farm accident claim covers

The injury itself, the recovery and any lasting effect on your life. Loss of earnings while you cannot work, including seasonal earnings and the gap between statutory sick pay and your normal income. Treatment, rehabilitation and travel to appointments. Care from family during recovery. Where the injury means you can no longer do the physical work you did before, the future loss of earnings and the cost of retraining. Where a colleague or family member died in a farm accident, dependants can claim for the loss of their financial support.

We'll call you back within 2 minutes with a straight answer on where you stand.

The situations people describe to us

"I've worked on this farm for years and I don't want to sue the family"

The claim goes to the farm's insurer, in the same way a claim for a damaged vehicle would. It is not a lawsuit against a person, and it does not come out of the family's pocket. Farmers hold the insurance for this reason, and most of them would rather an injured worker was looked after than left to manage on statutory sick pay.

"There's no accident book, it's just me and him"

Farms with fewer than ten staff aren't required to keep one, and most don't. The claim runs on other evidence: your GP or A&E record, a photo of the machine or the animal handling set-up, a text to the farmer about the injury, and anyone who saw it. Serious injuries must still be reported to the HSE by the farmer under RIDDOR, and asking whether that was done is a fair question.

"I was clearing a blockage and it caught my hand"

The most common machinery injury on a farm, and almost always a training and guarding failure rather than a personal one. The question a solicitor asks is whether you were trained to isolate the machine before clearing it, whether the guard was in place, and whether the pressure to keep the machine running came from above.

"I'm seasonal and self-employed, can I still claim?"

Yes. Seasonal, casual and self-employed farm workers are owed the same duty by whoever controls the work. Migrant and seasonal workers in particular are often told they have no rights; that is not the law.

What to do after a farm accident

Get medical help first, and get the injury on record with a GP or A&E the same day. Photograph the machine, the animal pen, the roof or the vehicle and the wider scene. Note who was there and who gave the instruction to do the job. Write down what happened while it is fresh, and keep it. Ask the farmer whether the accident has been reported to the HSE. Keep every receipt and a note of every day off. Then get in touch, because the three-year limit runs from the date of the accident and evidence on a working farm changes fast.

How a farm accident claim works with National Accident Support Line

Tell us what happened, by the form, WhatsApp or a call to 0333 212 2730, and web enquiries are called back within 2 minutes during opening hours. We ask what caused it, who controlled the work, whether you had training and who saw it. If there is a claim, we refer it to a specialist agricultural injury solicitor who runs it on a no win no fee agreement, with nothing to pay upfront. If there isn't, we say so. National Accident Support Line is an FCA-regulated claims management company, not a law firm. Farm injuries sit within our wider accident at work claims, and the general injury claims guide covers what every injury claim has in common.

Frequently asked questions

Can I claim for a farm accident if I'm self-employed?

Yes. The duty of care is owed by whoever controls the site, the machinery or the work, whatever your employment status.

Will I lose my job for making a farm claim?

No. Dismissing someone for making an injury claim is unlawful, and the claim is paid by the farm's insurer rather than the business.

Can I claim for a quad bike or ATV accident on a farm?

Yes, where the accident was caused by a lack of training, no helmet provided, an unsafe load or a machine that wasn't maintained. Quad bikes are one of the most common causes of serious farm injuries.

Can I claim for an injury caused by cattle?

Yes, where the handling facilities or the working arrangements were unsafe, such as being asked to work alone with cows and calves or without a proper crush or race.

How long do I have to claim?

Three years from the date of the accident, or from the date you knew an illness such as farmer's lung was caused by your work. For an injured child on a farm, three years from their 18th birthday.

What if the accident happened on a farm I was visiting?

Vets, contractors, delivery drivers and visitors are owed a duty by the farm's occupier. The claim is against the farm's public liability insurance.

Does a claim affect the farm's insurance?

The claim is what the insurance is for. Premiums are the farm's business, not the injured worker's responsibility.

What does no win no fee mean?

Nothing to pay upfront and nothing if the claim fails. If it succeeds, the solicitor's success fee, capped at 25% and agreed before the claim starts, comes out of the award.

We'll call you back within 2 minutes with a straight answer on where you stand.

National Accident Support Line Ltd is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in respect of regulated claims management activities, registration number 829991.