Farm Accidents Research Articles

Why do farm accidents persist? Normalising danger on the farm within the farm family.

In the western world, farming is the most dangerous occupation with the highest rates of accidents and fatalities. Farming remains largely a family business and most accidents happen to family members. Why do safety campaigns have such limited success and why do farm families bring this terrible grief on themselves? This article argues that farm accidents are a persistent social pattern requiring analysis of how families are socialised to interact with the farming space. Based on qualitative data gathered for a Scottish study, it is argued that within farm families there is a socialisation and normalisation of danger. Accidents are to be expected. Two key arguments are advanced. First, danger is normalised and children are socialised to undertake risky behaviour. Second, it is suggested that when women do take up farming, they consciously undertake dangerous farming activities to prove that they are 'authentic' farmers. No previous research has considered women's approach to danger, and the existing literature suggests women are more safety conscious. This is not supported by our findings. We argue that farm accidents and fatalities are a persistent social problem because family members socialise each other to accept danger as the norm.

Tractor rollover fatalities, analyzing accident scenario

IntroductionIn many countries, traditional data sources for collecting injuries of workers covered by compulsory accident insurance have recently been integrated by new observatories whose results may differ. A comparative analysis of the Italian data collection systems related to fatal tractor accidents in agriculture was performed focusing on tractor rollover fatalities with the aim of analyzing the accident scenario. MethodData from the Operational Archives of the Italian Workers Compensation Authority (INAIL), which collects injuries of workers covered by compulsory accident insurance and those of the National Surveillance System (INAIL_ASL), which provides narrative text reports of work-related fatal accidents have been analyzed and compared to the information collected by the INAIL Observatory. The INAL Observatory was recently set up to complement the collection of fatal accidents involving agricultural machinery. Italian data were then compared to data available at an international level. Fatal tractor accidents vary considerably with respect to fatal accidents in agriculture, being 10.6 and 43.7% for the Operational Archives and Surveillance System, respectively. National Surveillance System records, implemented with narrative texts allowed the accident scenario to be defined. Results71.7% of fatal tractor-related accidents refer to non-ROPS equipped vehicles and of these, 26.5% involved machines originally mounted with a ROPS that had been removed or was inoperative in the folded-down position during the rollover event. Just one fatal event from a collapsed ROPS on the overturned tractor was recorded. It is interesting that 16.6% of fatal accidents involved a clear environmental factor. Practical applicationA campaign to train tractor drivers on the correct use of the combination ROPS and seatbelt can contribute to decreasing rollover events with fatal outcomes. Contemporarily a strict requirement to install ROPS and a seatbelt on tractors, combined to an official inspection at the farm level, can increase the chance of survival in a rollover accident.

Developing an interactive educational farm safety app for children in Northern Ireland

A farm is a unique setting, as it can be both a workplace and a home to children. As a result, children can suffer farm accidents. This article details how collaborative working contributed to the development of an interactive app to increase farm safety awareness among children aged 5–11 years in Northern Ireland.

Accidents in agriculture jobs: the concept

Agriculture is an industry with a high rate of accidents at work. Issues related to agricultural accidents at work are governed by the Act of 20 December 1990 on farmers' social insurance. Due to the persistently low level of safety on farms, it is very important to correctly define and use the provisions of social insurance against accidents at work. The concept of an accident in agricultural jobs is of primary importance. It is necessary to amend it because its interpretation raises numerous questions and doubts. Examples of case-law and doctrine indicate legal problems, which remain to be solved.

Applied Research for a Safer Future: Exploring Recent Job Accidents in Agriculture, Italy (2012–2017)

The issue of “safe working” has received increasing concern in recent years worldwide, especially in Europe. Several European countries developed specific strategies to ensure the safety of operators and the awareness on the potential risks that can emerge from a vast set of activities, including field activity in agriculture. Earlier investigations have lately investigated this topic, proposing quali-quantitative analysis applied to specific economic sectors. The present study focused on the working accidents occurred in agriculture over the last 6 years (2012–2017) in Italy. By exploring where and when injuries occurred, the socio-demographic profile of involved persons (including age, gender, nationality) and correlating these episodes to agricultural practices, the present paper reveals intrinsic patterns of safe (or unsafe) working conditions at a quite detailed spatial scale (administrative provinces) in Italy. Based on these results, training/educational programs should be planned to increase awareness of risks involving workers in agriculture. Future scenarios can be explored based on specific information dealing with risk factors and operating conditions at various working sites with the final objective to establish suitable technical, legislative and operational measures to reduce job accidents.

Medical moulages of farm accidents.

Although popular for displaying dermatologic conditions before the advent of photography, the medical moulage has also illustrated injuries and accidents. Explored here are three farm accidents and the moulages based on them that occurred in rural Minnesota in the early 20th century. Besides being an object of historical interest, the medical moulage also provides a valuable learning and training opportunity, and can even be thought of as the predecessor of three dimensional printing.

The Impact of Human Error in the Use of Agricultural Tractors: A Case Study Research in Vineyard Cultivation in Italy

Recently, standards and regulations concerning occupational safety have become more and more rigorous. Nevertheless, the number of accidents and victims has not decreased significantly, as reported by official statistics. In Italy, the agricultural sector is certainly one of the most affected by this situation, especially taking into account the occurrence of serious injuries and fatalities related to the use of tractors. The main reasons for such a situation can be ascribed to the peculiarities of agricultural operations. Therefore, when analyzing the root causes of agricultural accidents, a user-centered approach is needed in order to make the development of health and safety interventions easier and more effective. Based on this, the present paper proposes a practical case study research focused on integrating the factor of human error into the risk assessment procedures of agricultural activities in vineyard cultivation. Such an approach allowed us to consider the impact of human error—while performing work activities (e.g., the use of a tractor)—on hazards and related hazardous events in a thorough manner. The proposed approach represents a novelty in the sector of the safety assessment of agricultural activities, providing a first valuable basis for further analysis and implementation by researchers and practitioners.

An Unknown Cause of Agricultural Accidents: Hoeing Machine

An Unknown Cause of Agricultural Accidents: Hoeing Machine

A study of open tibia and fibula fractures in fifty patients

Introduction: The incidence of high energy trauma is increasing with increase in traffic. Due to its subcutaneous anatomical location, tibia is vulnerable to direct blow in high energy trauma. Open tibial fractures are true surgical emergencies because of the risk of extensive infection to bone and devitalized soft tissue. The most serious consequence of open tibial fractures is amputation-which usually can be prevented by prompt early surgical intervention. Materials and Methods: Open tibial fractures often are the result of trauma from motor vehicle collisions, farm accidents, falls from heights, or fall of heavy objects. We studied 50 patients with compound tibia-fibula fractures for their mode and grade of injury, methods of stabilization, rate of union, rate of infection, method of soft tissue coverage used, requirement of change of implants, requirement of secondary procedures, amputation & postoperative rehabilitation. Result: Majority of the patients belonged to the age group of 41-50 years with a male preponderance and the commonest mode of injury was road traffic accidents. Bone grafting was required in 38% patients. The average time of union for the patients who required bone grating was 43 weeks and in those who didn't need was 26.12 weeks. Six patients required amputation and two patients died. Conclusion: As the Gustilo-Anderson grade increases, the chances of infection and non-union also increase and outcome is poorer. So we feel that more aggressive treatment has to be carried out for Grade III injury within first 48 hours to achieve optimum outcome.

Comparison of autopsy findings and injury severity scores in deaths due to traumatic asphyxia (perthes syndrome)

Traumatic asphyxia is a rare clinical syndrome usually caused by sudden and severe thoracic and/or thoracoabdominal compression. It presents with craniofacial cyanosis, petechiae, and subconjunctival haemorrhages. The present study employed a postmortem retrospective methodology to analyse autopsy findings and accompanying injuries in cases of death due to traumatic asphyxia.Four years of case files from a morgue department at a forensic medicine institute were searched and 53 cases of lethal traumatic asphyxia were found. These cases were then classified into groups and compared using the Injury Severity Score (ISS) and New Injury Severity Score (NISS) indices to measure trauma. ResultsThe individuals had died due to occupational (n = 28; 52.8%), farm (n = 10; 18.9%), traffic (n = 9; 17.0%) or household (n = 6; 11.3%) accidents. At the external examination, conjunctival petechiae (60.4%) and petechiae on the face/neck (52.8%); at the autopsy, subpleural petechiae (58.5%) and petrous ridge hemorrgahe (without skull base fracture) (56.6%) were the most common findings. A finding of petrous ridge hemorrgahe was very common in the cases without any accompanying injuries (Group A in which mean Injury Severity Score was 0.83 ± 0.98).Traumatic asphyxia is usually suspected from the given circumstances before an autosopy is performed. In cases without hospitalisation, any of the following signs may lead the physician to diagnose traumatic asphyxia as the cause of death: petechiae on the upper parts of the body and conjunctiva, petechiae on serous membranes (including subpleural regions), signs of petrous ridge haemorrhage without skull base fracture.

Farm Work-Related Health Problems: Farm Accidents and Pesticide Poisoning

Farm Work-Related Health Problems: Farm Accidents and Pesticide Poisoning

Lower limb injuries secondary to hoeing machine accidents

Agricultural accidents are important for Turkey as more than 20 million people are involved in agriculture. The aim of this study was to evaluate orthopaedic lower limp injuries related to hoeing machine from a trauma centre localized in Middle Anatolia Region. 15 patients who hospitalized for hoeing machine were included to study due to lower limp injuries between April 2012 and May 2017. All the medical records were scanned retrospectively to evaluate “the demographic, epidemiologic characteristics of patients, cause of accidents, type of injury, duration of hospital stay and also hospital costs were evaluated retrospectively “. According to database, fifteen patients were hospitalised for lower limp injuries (14 were male, 1 female). The mean age was 45.2 (19-64) years old. The most frequent injury was tibia fracture (64 %). The mean hospital stay time was 14 days (between 1and 53). The mean cost was 11.140,16 (500 and 27.115,08) Turkish Liras. The rate of knee dislocation was 26 %. Most prevalent injury was tibia fracture. Simple precautions can be effective for preventing this kind of injuries. Meticulous examination is important as the rate of knee dislocation is high in these types of traumas.

A Study of an IoT-based Safety System for Agricultural Machine-related Traffic Accidents in Rural Area

A Study of an IoT-based Safety System for Agricultural Machine-related Traffic Accidents in Rural Area

Analysis of Tractor-Associated Fatalities.

Tractor is regarded as a key equipment in agriculture, and it is also used for transportation and transfer purposes in addition to its agricultural use. Accidents resulting in death in farmlands are frequently encountered. Tractor-related fatalities are the most common ones among the deaths after farm accidents. This study aimed to evaluate the characteristics of tractor-related deaths and to discuss the measures that could be taken to prevent these deaths. In this study, 42 cases who underwent postmortem examination and/or autopsy because of tractor fatalities in the province of Elazig between January 2005 and December 2016 were examined retrospectively with such variables as sex, age, month and season of incident, cause of incident, location of incident, position of case, and injured region. Of the cases, 36 (85.7%) were male, and 6 (14.3%) were female. The youngest case was 2 years old, and the oldest case was 83 years old; the mean age was 43.3 ± 25.0 years. Examining the deaths regarding the cause of incident showed that tractor rollover was the most common cause (42.9%). This was followed by being run over by the tractor (19.0%). Of the cases, 24 (57.1%) were drivers, 10 (23.8%) were passengers, and 8 (19.0%) were pedestrians. Tractor-related fatalities due to tractor rollover are most often seen. To reduce the deaths caused by this reason, drivers should have special training and technical support, use helmets and seatbelts in the tractor, and have a health check at certain intervals (especially the drivers at advanced age).

A clinical and epidemiological study of upper limb injuries resulting from agricultural accidents

Background: Agriculture remains the most important occupation in India and upper limb injuries occur frequently in agricultural accidents. Agriculture related injuries are important causes of mortality and morbidity in all age groups. These injuries result in major physical and psychological impacts as well as economical burdens. Objectives of the study was to study the pattern and epidemiological basis of agricultural hand injuries, to analyse the prognosis and recovery pattern of agricultural hand injuries in terms of return to work following treatment and to suggest measures for prevention of agricultural hand injuries.Methods: The study was a descriptive study conducted in the department of plastic and reconstructive surgery, Thanjavur medical college from October 2012 to April 2017. About 220 patients admitted with agricultural upper limb injuries were evaluated. Data on age, sex, injury patterns, anatomical localizations, injury season, length of stay in the hospital, and infections were evaluated.Results: Agricultural upper limb injuries constituted about 11.25% of total upper extremity trauma. Males were more commonly affected than females. Majority of the patients were in the age group 21-50. Most of the patients were right handed individuals. Hand injuries were more common (73%).Conclusions: We can reduce agricultural upper limb injuries by shielding the rotating components of farming machinery that cause injuries, informing and educating farming families, forbidding the entrance of children to areas with agricultural machines, providing information about agricultural accidents and their prevention methods, and adjusting the working hours of farming personnel, especially in the hottest months of the year.

Physical medicine after limb transplantation. Therapeutic effects of physical procedures in the treatment of limb transplantation after cut-off by a threshing machine – Case report

Introduction. The number of accidents in agriculture involving children as the victims continues to increase year-by-year. Parents often allow children to perform certain tasks, or even entrust them to perform such tasks as a duty. The paper presents results of treatment using a 3D magnetic field in a 31-year- old patient after transplantation of the upper extremity of the arm. Amputation of the extremity had been caused by an accident (hand cut-off by a threshing machine). The therapeutic cycle for the patient constituted of 3 series of 15 daily procedures, performed for 15 minutes. There was a break of 4 weeks between sessions. Additionally, the patient performed kinesitherapy exercises in the outpatient clinic. The results obtained regarding improvement of the functional condition of the limb showed that in the complex planning of treatment, the taking into account of the physical medicine procedures should be indispensable.

Upper Extremity Trauma Resulting From Agricultural Accidents: Mechanism and Severity for Patients With and Without Upper Extremity Injury.

Farming remains the most dangerous occupation in the United States and upper extremity (UE) injuries occur frequently in agricultural accidents. The purpose of this study is to describe the injury mechanisms, severity, and health care costs of UE injuries resulting from agricultural accidents and to compare patients with and without injuries to the UE. We performed a 6-year retrospective review of our level I trauma center registry from January 2006 to May 2013, identifying all patients injured in an agricultural accident. Data collection included baseline demographics, injury type and mechanism, costs and treatment. Patients with UE injuries were compared with those without UE injuries. Ninety-six of 273 patients (35%) sustained an UE injury with fractures of the phalanx and radius/ulna occurring most frequently. Patients with UE injuries were more likely to be injured from table saws ( P = .0003) and farm machinery ( P < .0001). Twenty-one percent with UE injuries sustained a mangled extremity. Patients with UE injuries were more likely to require surgery (68% vs 36%, P < .0001) and were more likely to be readmitted (17% vs 5%, P = .0007) with risk factors for readmission including age >18 years, falls from height, and surgery. Mean hospital charges were $95 147. Patients sustaining agricultural UE injuries have longer lengths of stay and more frequently require surgery despite similar hospital charges compared with non-UE injured patients. Hospital readmissions occur frequently for patients with UE injuries. Understanding injury mechanisms and the epidemiology of these potentially devastating and costly injuries may help guide agricultural injury prevention programs.

Epidemiology of Road Traffic Fatalities Among Agricultural Vehicle Users in East Azerbaijan, Iran (2006 - 2016)

he agricultural industry is one of the most hazardous industries. The combination of causes in the agricultural industry determines the potential to damage (1). Serious agricultural accidents in Iran are growing (2). Tractor accidents are divided into accidents from a tractor and other objects caught among a tractor and a connected device or vehicle that moves on leverage (3). Iran is a developing country moving towards industrial development and Tabriz, as a metropolis, has an important role in this progress expecting an accountable number of occupational accidents to occur through this process (4). This city has many vast rural areas where farmers mostly use agricultural machinery. A descriptive study on AVUs (agricaltural vehicle users) fatalities was performed in East Azerbaijan based on data registered in the East Azerbaijan forensic medicine organization as a governmental center. The inclusion criteria included evaluation on all deaths that occurred through road traffic accidents among farmers. A total of 9 435 fatal traffic injury cases were registered in the database through the Iranian Shamsi calendar years of 1385 - 1394, which is equivalent to the time period between March 2006 and March 2016. The most common mechanism of accidents was rollover, comprising 86% of the cases. Head trauma was the leading factor of death, accounting for 51.3% of the cases (39 victims). Bleeding was more common as the main cause of death among those who died prior either at the accident site or while being transferred to the hospital (P = 0.01).

Fatal accidents at work in agriculture associated with alcohol intoxication in Lower Silesia in Poland.

Determining the prevalence of alcohol intoxication and the level of intoxication in victims of fatal occupational accidents is necessary to improve work safety. The circumstances of the accident and the time between alcohol consumption and death are important factors. A retrospective review of 18 935 medico-legal autopsy reports and toxicological reports performed in the Department of Forensic Medicine at the Wroclaw Medical University, Poland, in the years 1991-2014. The study protocol included circumstances, time and cause of death, injuries, quantitative testing for the presence of ethyl alcohol, gender and age. There were 98 farm-related fatalities. There were 41.8% (N = 41) of victims who had been intoxicated - 95.1% (N = 39) of them were males aged 19-70 years old, 4,9% (N = 2) were females aged 37-65 years old. In 8 cases the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was 50-150 mg/dl; in 15 cases it was 150-250 mg/dl and in 18 cases it was > 250 mg/dl. In 21 cases, the BAC was determined using alternative material and 76% (N = 16) victims were in the alcohol elimination phase with 19% (N = 4) victims in the alcohol absorption phase. The most common causes of death were traffic accidents, drowning and deaths resulting from being caught in or hit by moving parts of machinery or equipment. Alcohol consumption is a crucial risk factor in fatal agricultural accidents. In order to establish the time of alcohol consumption, all victims of agricultural accidents should be tested for alcohol concentration in their blood and urine or vitreous. Improving safety at work requires that the sobriety of employees should be monitored before and during work. Med Pr 2017;68(1):23-30.

Pesticides, pollution and the UK's silent spring, 1963-1964: Poison in the Garden of England.

Despite being characterized as 'one of the worst agricultural accidents in Britain in the 1960s', the 'Smarden incident' has never been subjected to a complete historical analysis. In 1963, a toxic waste spill in Kent coincided with the publication of the British edition of Rachel Carson's Silent spring. This essay argues that these events combined to 'galvanize' nascent toxic and environmental consciousness. A seemingly parochial toxic waste incident became part of a national phenomenon. The Smarden incident was considered to be indicative of the toxic hazards that were born of technocracy. It highlighted the inadequacies of existent concepts and practices for dealing with such hazards. As such, it was part of the fracturing of the consensus of progress: it made disagreements in expertise publicly visible. By the completion of the episode, 10 different governmental ministries were involved. Douglas Good, a local veterinary surgeon, helped to effect the 'reception' of Silent spring in the UK by telling the 'Smarden story' through local and national media and through the publications of anti-statist organizations.