Agriculture, forestry and fishing has the highest rate of fatal injury of any major UK industry, according to the Health and Safety Executive. Farm work combines tractors and quad bikes, unguarded machinery, livestock, fragile roofs and chemicals, often carried out by a small workforce working alone. Farms have the same legal duties as any other employer.
Common Causes of Farming Accidents
- Vehicles — tractors, quad bikes and other farm vehicles, including overturns
- Machinery entanglement — unguarded power take-off shafts, augers and other moving parts
- Livestock — being struck, trampled or crushed, especially by bulls or cows with calves
- Falls from height — ladders, stacks, and fragile roofs on farm buildings
- Falling objects — bales, stacked materials and loads shifting in transport or storage
- Chemicals and pesticides — exposure without proper COSHH controls
What Farm Employers Must Do
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the risk assessment duties in the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, PUWER 1998 for machinery and vehicles, and COSHH 2002 for chemicals all apply in full on farms. That means assessing the risks of machinery, vehicles and livestock, guarding and maintaining equipment, providing proper animal handling facilities such as crushes and pens, and training workers. Old or unserviced machinery is significant evidence of a failure to keep equipment safe.
A small or family-run farm is not exempt because of its size or informal set-up, and the duty of care applies even if the business belongs to your own family — your solicitor will establish the correct insurance position. The inherent risk of farm work is the reason these duties exist; an accident is not an accepted cost of the job if it came from a failure to meet them.
Contractors and Seasonal Workers
Contractors, seasonal and casual workers are usually owed a duty of care by whoever controls the work and conditions, even without permanent employment. If you were a self-employed contractor and the farm controlled how the work was done, a claim may still be possible.
Pesticide and Chemical Exposure
Long-term ill health from pesticides and other farm chemicals can be claimed, with the three-year limit usually running from your date of knowledge — when you first knew the condition was significant and linked to your work. See chemical exposure claims.
Types of Injuries
- Crush injuries from livestock and vehicles
- Amputations and entanglement injuries from machinery
- Fractures, spinal and head injuries from falls and overturns
- Chemical burns and pesticide-related illness
Evidence That Helps
- Details of the machinery, vehicle or animal involved
- Photographs of the site, equipment or hazard
- Any risk assessment for the task, or evidence that none existed
- Maintenance and training records
- Medical records, witness accounts and any RIDDOR report
How dangerous is farming work in Great Britain?
Agriculture has the highest fatal injury rate of any major industry in Great Britain. HSE figures for 2024/25 (provisional) record 23 workers killed in agriculture, forestry and fishing, against a five-year average of 25. The fatal injury rate of 8.77 per 100,000 workers is around 22 times the all-industry rate, and being struck by a moving vehicle accounted for 23% of deaths over the five years to 2024/25. Source: HSE, Agriculture, forestry and fishing statistics in Great Britain, 2025.
Which safety rules apply on farms?
- PUWER 1998, regulation 11 — dangerous parts of machinery such as PTO shafts, augers, feeders and conveyors must be guarded, normally with fixed guards that need a tool to remove
- LOLER 1998 — telehandlers, loaders and other lifting equipment must be thoroughly examined by a competent person and lifts must be planned
- Work at Height Regulations 2005 — work on barn and shed roofs, especially fragile roof sheets and rooflights, must be planned to prevent falls
- Prevention of Accidents to Children in Agriculture Regulations 1998 — it is unlawful to let a child under 13 drive a tractor or other self-propelled agricultural machine, or to ride on such machines and certain other farm vehicles and implements (legislation.gov.uk)
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 — risk assessments must cover quad bike and ATV use, livestock handling and lone working
What happens when a farm ignores machinery guarding? A real case
In November 2025 an egg producer in Cumbria, Bell Mount Farming Limited, was fined £50,000 (plus £6,038 costs) at Warrington Magistrates’ Court after a 61-year-old worker died when his clothing became entangled in the drive sprocket of a hen feeding system. HSE found the guard could simply be lifted off because its bolt holes were stripped and misaligned. The company pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 11(1)(a) of PUWER. Source: HSE press release, 21 November 2025.
A criminal fine is separate from compensation: a fine goes to the state, while an injured worker, or the family of a worker who died, can bring a civil claim for compensation from the employer’s insurer. A successful HSE prosecution can be strong evidence in that claim.
Tell us what happened. A free, no-obligation check will tell you whether you can claim, and accepted claims run on a no win, no fee basis.
Start your free claim checkWhat should I read before I claim?
- Accident at work claim time limits
- How much compensation an accident at work claim is worth
- How the accident at work claims process works
Frequently Asked Questions
I was a self-employed contractor on the farm — can I claim?
Possibly. If the farm controlled how the work was done and failed in its safety duties, a claim may lie.
Can I claim if I was injured working on my own family's farm?
Potentially, yes. The employer's duty of care applies regardless of family relationships, though your solicitor will need to establish the correct insurance and liability position.
What about pesticide exposure?
Long-term ill health from pesticides can be claimed within three years of the date of knowledge.
What if I was injured by a bull or cow?
Employers must assess the risks of working with livestock and provide suitable handling facilities, training and safe systems of work, particularly around animals known to be unpredictable. A failure to do so can support a claim.
Primary legal and safety sources
This guide is checked against official sources. The applicable law and limitation rules depend on where in the UK the accident happened.