Royal Highland Show 2014: Injury levels rise on Scotland’s farms

The number of serious injuries on Scottish farms has risen by 13% in one year, according to NFU Mutual statistics revealed at the Royal Highland Show.

Last year the rural insurer paid out £7.7m to victims who had life-changing injuries.

In 2012, the figure was £6.8m and a year earlier the total was £4.9m.

See also: Read more on farm health and safety issues

NFU Mutual spokesman Tim Price said the death and injury figures for Scotland were worryingly high.

“One of the reasons that we are seeing the rise in serious injury is because people are surviving accidents that would once have proved fatal,” Mr Price told Farmers Weekly.

“The figures are likely to show no reduction in the number of accidental deaths but reflect our findings of a worsening picture for serious injury.”
Tim Price, NFU Mutual

In July the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will release official annual figures, Mr Price added.

“The figures are likely to show no reduction in the number of accidental deaths but reflect our findings of a worsening picture for serious injury,” he said.

Mr Price added that the £7.7m payout only represented injuries where compensation claims were higher than £100,000.

“There were 53 accidents resulting in these higher payouts but, of course, many more serious injuries are not included in this set of data,” he said.

The compensation was needed for rehabilitation or to convert houses to cope with serious disability.

Speaking at the Royal Highland Show, Mr Price said the NFU Mutual was stepping up its activities to improve health and safety.

Its farm safety foundation, launched with £500,000 of funding in May, was already supporting a range of initiatives aimed at tackling the problem.

See also: Read more from the 2014 Royal Highland Show

The idea is to encourage farmers and farm workers to take the lead on health and safety, Mr Price explained.

“Some of the money is being used to pay for first aid courses in colleges.

“We are also encouraging young farmers to provide us with videos based around the issue of safety,” he said.