Man Killed in Rear-End Accident with Farming Equipment

 Posted on December 02,2022 in Farm Accidents

Just a couple of weeks ago, a man was working with a combine harvester when an accident happened that broke his leg in two places. The man laid alone in the field for some time before someone found him and took him to the Bloomington-Normal hospital. That same day, another Illinois man was killed and a passenger seriously injured after their car rear-ended a farm utility vehicle driving on a rural road. The impact to these victims’ families just before the Thanksgiving holiday cannot be understated, and also illustrates the serious danger that farming equipment can pose. 

Common Farming Equipment Accidents

Despite being responsible for the food that keeps us all alive, farming equipment - and the kind of work that it requires - exposes farm employees and even passers-by to dangerous risks. Agricultural workers, in particular, are at risk of sustaining injuries from farming equipment, although friends, neighbors, and even pets of people who live adjacent to farms can be injured as well. 

Although the injuries resulting from farming equipment are numerous and vary in seriousness, the most common accidents that result in injury or death include: 

• Tipping tractors or other heavy machinery - This is the most common cause of farmworker fatalities 

• Toxic chemical exposure - Pesticides, herbicides, and other toxic chemicals are often used on farms, causing serious breathing problems, rashes and chemicals burns, and other injuries 

• Falls - Farmworkers can fall from barns, silos, trees, horses and any other height in the course of their job 

• Suffocation and asphyxiation - Grain bins, like wheat and soybean storage, can pose risks of poor ventilation 

• Heat exposure - Farming work often involves working in hot, humid weather, which can lead to dehydration, heart problems, and heat stroke 

• Animal injuries - Animal injuries can result in broken bones, bite injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and more

• Limb crushing and amputation - Farm equipment is complex and exposes workers to the risk of getting fingers, hands, arms, and legs entangled, caught, crushed, or mangled

If you were injured by farming equipment, the legal action you can take will depend on the circumstances of your injury. If you are an employee on a farm, you may need to pursue workers’ compensation. If you were a neighbor or friend, your personal injury case could depend on whether you were invited onto the property and whether the farming equipment owner contributed to your injuries through negligence. If you collided with farming equipment on the side of the road, your case could depend on whether the driver of the equipment was following proper rules and regulations. The best thing you can do is to speak with a farm equipment accident attorney right away. 

Contact a Bloomington, IL Farm Equipment Accident Lawyer

If you or anyone you love has been injured or killed in an accident with farm equipment in Illinois, get help from an experienced Springfield, IL farm equipment accident attorney with Kanoski Bresney. We know how to handle these kinds of cases to maximize the compensation to which you are entitled and will work hard to protect your rights. Call us today at 888-826-8682 to schedule a free, confidential consultation. 

Sources: 

https://www.wifr.com/2022/11/15/one-killed-rear-end-collision-with-farm-equipment-near-dekalb/

https://www.effinghamdailynews.com/news/illinois-farmer-feels-grateful-and-blessed-after-harvest-accident/article_a0f5cde2-6519-11ed-b5ff-c7e1b32186ab.html