When you come across farm machinery traveling down the road, you often view it as an inconvenience. While they are bulky and take up much of the road, they operate at slower speeds, causing traffic to buildup behind them. Nonetheless, collisions with these vehicles occur in Illinois and other states across the nation. Thus, it is important to consider the hazards and dangers these vehicles present on the roadways as well as your rights following an accident involving farming equipment.
Farm accidents
Agriculture remains an important industry in the nation, making large an efficient machinery necessary to keep up with the demands the industry presents. Often, these machines require travel on roadways, resulting in sharing the road with other motor vehicles. While this is more prominent in rural areas, this could occur well beyond these areas.
When it comes to work-related fatalities for farm workers, the leading cause is roadway collisions. While motor vehicles traveling behind or around farm machinery should use caution and drive safely, the negligence of another motorist is not always the cause of a farm accident on the roadway.
Liability and civil actions
A farm worker may be operating the machinery improperly, is not using the necessary precautions, did not properly maintain the vehicle or is driving recklessly on the roadway. As such, it is important to consider cause and liability when a roadway accident involving farm equipment occurs.
If you were harmed in an accident involving farm equipment, you may be able to hold others liable for the harms suffered. A personal injury action could help you recover compensation for the damages and losses suffered and place liability on the farm worker and even the farm they work for. Similarly, if a farm worker is injured in a roadway accident and another motorist is at fault, a civil action is possible, even if they move forward with a workers’ compensation action.
The aftermath of a roadway accident involving farm equipment can be severe and deadly, even if the collision was not at a fast speed. Farm equipment is large and has the tendency to rollover, which is likely to result in an accident involving serious injuries and even fatalities. Thus, it is important to understand your rights following an accident involving farm equipment so you can make an informed decision regarding your legal options.