Tractor Accident Compensation Claims
There are many farm accidents in Ireland each year involving injuries to workers from farm machinery and tractors; many of which are eligible for tractor accident compensation claims when personal injuries have been sustained in the accident. Tractor accidents can cause serious injuries with lifelong consequences. Health problems, considerable loss of amenity and loss of job prospects from being no longer able to work, all need to be factored into tractor accident compensation claims to ensure that sufficient damages are awarded.
Tractor accidents can also occur on the road, and car drivers may be eligible to make tractor accident claims for compensation if they were injured in road traffic accident involving a tractor which was not entirely their fault.
If you have been involved in a farm accident or road traffic accident with a tractor, and you believe that you were not entirely to blame for being injured, you could be eligible to make tractor accident compensation claims to recover losses and compensation for damages.
Eligibility to Make Tractor Accident Compensation Claims in Ireland
If you have been injured on the roads in Ireland due to the negligence of a tractor driver, or if you have been involved in a farm accident with a tractor and have sustained a personal injury, you could be eligible to make tractor accident compensation claims provided that the accident was the result of third party negligence, that a duty of care existed to you and this was breached, and if you sustained an injury as a direct result of the accident.
Farm accidents are common in Ireland due to the dangerous nature of farm work, and heavy machinery is often to blame. When accidents occur and an employee is injured, it may be possible to make a claim for tractor accident compensation provided that an employer has breached a duty of care to workers and employee rights have been compromised.
Common Reasons for Making Tractor Accident Compensation Claims
- Road traffic accidents involving a tractor
- Personal Injury sustained to a tractor driver due to faulty tractor machinery
- Overturned tractors and falls from a height
- Personal Injury from tractor equipment
- Crushed by a tractor
- Tractor accidents with other vehicles
- Faulty tractor maintenance
- Manufacturer faults which caused a personal injury
Tractor Accidents and Employee Rights
Farm workers may be required to work in dangerous environments in all weather conditions with heavy machinery as part of their job; however as with any worker, farm workers have employee rights and they must not be placed at an excessive risk of injury. If tractor accidents are caused due to employer negligence, employee rights allow a worker to make a claim for tractor accident compensation against the employer’s liability insurance policy.
It is an employer’s responsibility to ensure that all risks to employees are reduced to the lowest possible level and that workers are trained to perform tasks and capable of doing them. Employee rights ensure that if an employer has failed to advise of the risks or take steps to reduce them, and a tractor accident occurs which results in an injury, employees can make tractor accident compensation claims against a current employer.
Tractor Accident Compensation Claims for Employees
Tractor accident compensation claims for employees have the potential to be complicated, with tractor drivers often working alone without witnesses to observe how a tractor accident occurred. When there is employer liability, this can affect the cost of future insurance premiums and an employer may be liable to pay a proportion of any compensation award in any tractor accident claim. As such, liability may not be accepted and tractor accident compensation claims can be contested.
Since tractor accident compensation claims for employees often involve highly serious and even potentially fatal injuries, the high claims value may see the claim settled in the High Court. When litigation is required to ensure adequate compensation is recovered, a personal injury solicitor must be used. However due to the potential for complications with tractor accident claims for compensation, it is wise to use a personal injury solicitor with any employer liability claims.
Tractor Accident Compensation Claims and Contributory Negligence
As with any claim for personal injury compensation, tractor accident compensation claims will consider the contributory negligence of multiple third parties, and even the claimant themselves – who may have personally played a part in an accident or the severity of the injuries which have been sustained. Multiple vehicle accidents on the roads may be a result of the contributory negligence of more than one driver, and tractor accident compensation claims would need to be made against each negligent third party.
When tractor accident compensation claims involve personal negligence – such as when a tractor driver has been injured in an accident which was partially his fault – provided that the claimant was not primarily responsible for a tractor accident, tractor accident compensation claims can still be made. The compensation amount in any tractor accident claims would be reduced accordingly to account for personal contributory negligence.
Tractor Accident Compensation Claims for Road Traffic Accidents
Tractors are built for power not speed, but it is slow speed which is the reason for many tractor accidents on Ireland’s roads. Car drivers looking to overtake slow moving tractors can become angry at having to wait, and often pull out unsafely in an attempt to overtake. The length of a tractor can be misleading, especially when a tractor is towing farm machinery. Cars may underestimate the time it takes to overtake and be involved in accidents. Tractor accidents on the road tend to be severe for other drivers due to the nature of farm machinery which is towed and due to the size and power of the vehicles. Tractor accident compensation claims are possible for victims of road traffic accidents with a tractor, provided that the driver of the tractor has been negligent towards other road users and has caused an accident.
Even though tractors are large and powerful, a rear end collision into a tractor by a vehicle moving at speed can still be sufficient to cause whiplash injuries to the tractor driver. Tractor accident compensation claims can be made by the tractor driver against the negligent vehicle driver in such cases.
Free Legal Advice on Tractor Accident Claims
For free legal advice on tractor accident claims for compensation and to determine eligibility to make claims for tractor accidents, we invite you to call our free legal helpline. Your call will be answered by an experienced solicitor who will give you invaluable advice on making tractor accident compensation claims in Ireland.
Alternatively, if it is not convenient to call straightaway, please complete our contact form at the bottom of this page and one of our solicitors will call you back at the requested time.