Illinois farmers operate heavy machinery on a daily basis. That machinery can result in fatal and life-threatening injuries. Considering that many of our state’s youth could grow up to work on farms one day, it’s never too early to start educating children about safety issues on the farm.
The Highland Community Unit School District is striving to do just that. St. Paul Catholic School recently participated in Agriculture Safety Day. May 12 is a worldwide day to bring higher awareness and education regarding the importance of farm safety.
Many agricultural workers know someone who has died
The Progressive Agriculture Foundation says that many farm workers who have been in the business for some time know someone who suffered the life-changing or life-ending consequences of an agricultural accident. The saddest part about these accidents is that the majority of them can and should have been avoided by taking simple precautions.
For example, some agricultural workers may know a person who died because he or she did not take proper precautions while working with a grain bin or grain silo. Enclosed silo spaces may not have enough oxygen and could have different gases that result in suffocation.
Improving farm safety through early education
The Progressive Agricultural Foundation is trying to bring farm injury and farm fatality numbers down through educational campaigns like the one that St. Paul Catholic School participated in. At this most recent event, there were different stations to educate children about gun safety, lawnmower safety, first aid, fire extinguisher use, grain bin safety, anhydrous safety, general farm safety and even seatbelt safety.
At the end of the day, the local fire department showed how they perform a car extrication. They also demonstrated what can happen when a car crashes into a tractor pulling a disk, resulting in a fire.
Were you hurt in a farm accident?
Farm workers suffer frequent injuries in the Illinois agricultural industry. When this happens, the injured worker may have a viable claim to seek workers’ compensation to pay for his or her medical care and time unable to work. In certain circumstances, the worker may also be able to pursue a personal injury claim regarding one’s injuries.
Source: Nov. 30, -0001