Common farming injuries covered by workers’ comp
More than 10% of the U.S. population is employed in farming and agriculture. While farming is vital to keep the population fed, it can also involve some risks and potential injuries.
Farming is considered one of the most hazardous professions, next to construction and mining. That’s because farming often involves manual labor, heavy machinery, and exposure to pesticides and other harmful substances.
In this article, we will discuss common farm-related injuries and how urgent care can help if you get injured on the job.
Farm accidents while working
Work-related injuries happen in farming primarily during the harvesting months of June, July, and August. This is typically when the farm staff is most active, and farm injuries are most likely to occur. A few common farm-related injuries may include:
Tractor accidents
The most common type of injury is when a tractor rolls over, which can cause severe injury. Tractors are top-heavy, and when driving over the wrong kind of terrain, a steep incline, or a ditch, they may become unstable and roll over. Caution is needed when using heavy machinery, like tractors, on a farm.
Entanglements with heavy machinery
Tractors are not the only type of heavy machinery used on farms. Other types of machines may include harvesters, balers, plows, or tillers. These machines help improve farm productivity and have many moving parts that can cause injury.
Typically, farm accidents are caused by a malfunction of the machinery or improper use. For example, machine entanglements, equipment collisions, or being struck by machine parts are common injuries related to machine use. Regular machine maintenance and safety protocols around heavy machinery may help prevent some injuries.
Falls
Farming may involve climbing atop heavy machinery, silos, or ladders. This can result in broken bones, fractures, or more severe injuries.
Exposure to toxic chemicals
Toxic chemicals such as pesticides, weed killers, or fertilizers are commonly found on farms. Exposure to these types of chemicals can cause poisoning and can lead to short or long-term health effects. Maintaining safety standards, ventilation and wearing breathing protection can help lower your risk of exposure.
Livestock injuries
Animals of all kinds can be unpredictable in their behavior. Injuries caused by animals can include being knocked down, kicked, bitten, stepped on, or pinned between an animal and a hard surface.
Using workers’ comp for work injuries
If you experience one of these common farm injuries while at work, you might be eligible to receive workers’ compensation. This type of insurance paid by your employer provides benefits to employees who become sick or get injured while working.
Workers’ compensation benefits can vary by state. Workers’ comp will pay for medical care and lost wages and provide death benefits to families of employees who die on the job.
Our urgent care centers can help with nonemergency workers’ comp injuries or illnesses. Just walk in or save your spot online at any of our conveniently located centers. We are here to help.
Visit an urgent care for any work-related injuries in farming
If you work in farming or agriculture and are injured on the job, our urgent care centers can help. We accept workers’ comp for treatment at all of our centers. At our centers, we offer a variety of services that could be helpful, such as X-rays, stitches, nonemergency injury treatment, and lab tests. We also have an extensive network of providers if you need further evaluation or a follow-up visit.
Our centers are in-network with most insurance providers, and we offer self-pay options. Just walk in, save your spot online, or schedule a virtual urgent care visit with one of our caring, knowledgeable providers.
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