How common are fatal work accidents on farms?

As a farm worker or other agricultural employee working on a New Mexico farm or ranch, you likely are concerned about your safety. You are often working around extremely dangerous equipment, not to mention working with animals who can be volatile and unpredictable. Just how safe are you, when working on a farm? How frequent are fatal farm accidents?

The national Bureau of Labor Statistics breaks down occupational injuries and fatalities by state, including discussing them by both frequency of occurrences and by rate. The tables offer data from 2014 to 2016, as well as links to archived data. Wrongful death or work-related fatalities on farms would fall under the fatal occupational injuries category for farming, fishing, and foresting. In 2016, New Mexico farming, fishing, and foresting suffered 11 occupational deaths, with six related to transportation and three related to contact with objects and equipment. This is up from five total in 2015, but down from 12 in 2014.

So as you can see, occupational fatalities related to the farming industry are infrequent – but that does not mean they are not serious, or that you should not take utmost care with workplace safety. Always maintain standards of safety and personal protection when working with farm equipment and livestock. No one wants to be a statistic, no matter how small that statistic may be, and the first step in preventing personal injury and wrongful death accidents on a farm is proper safety.

This blog is intended as an informational reference only, and should not under any circumstances be considered legal advice or actionable legal counsel.