Scots data show rise in farm deaths

24 June 1999

Scots data show rise in farm deaths

By FWi staff

FARMING is becoming a much more dangerous business, suggest statistics released by health and safety inspectors today.

Ten people were killed in farming-related accidents in Scotland last year, according to figures released today by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Among the casualties was a 47-year-old farmer who was struck on the head by a bale which fell from a trailer as he was repairing a puncture.

The man had jacked up the trailer but it became unstable.

He returned to the farm to fetch a fore-end loader which he the used to move some of the bales to another part of the trailer.

As he removed a wheel-nut, a bale slipped and fell on him causing fatal head injuries.

Statistics for England and Wales will be released next month, but the Scottish data indicate that the number of people involved in farm accidents is rising.

The ten deaths in Scotland last year were two higher than in 1997 and the number of major accidents also rose.

There were 276 serious reported last year compared with 263 the year before.

Although the increase in accidents was only slight, David Mattey, the HSEs chief agricultural inspector described it as disappointing.

“The 10 who died included six self-employed men, three employees and a man who was not connected with the farming business.”

The member of the public was a water worker taking a water sample on the roadside verge of a field, when a bull broke out and trampled him to death.

Three of the fatalities involved falls, and two were caused by falling objects.

One death was linked to an all-terrain vehicle and two deaths involved cattle.

“The trend that stands out from the figures this year is that four of the deaths were people who were dealing with non-routine work,” said Mr Mattey.

My message to people working on farms is that they must think about how they will deal with the unplanned.”

A minor consolation is that none of the Scottish deaths involved children, tractors over-turning, or forestry workers.