Jackson Farming & Agricultural Injury Lawyer

Representing Injured Farm Workers of Mississippi

Working on a farm or agricultural property can be inherently dangerous, especially if you need to work with heavy machinery throughout the day. At 'MAGGIO LAW, we understand that the last thing you need after being hurt on the job is resistance and trouble from your employer or the company that provides their workers’ compensation insurance. Yet most agricultural workers who file for workers’ comp will run into some sort of issue. Many workers will actually encounter first-round claim denials.

When you let our Jackson farming injury attorneys handle your case, you can be confident that your workers’ compensation claim will be respected. Furthermore, we know how to bring a third-party injury claim against the company that manufactured the heavy machinery or equipment that caused your injury. No matter how long or difficult the legal fight is, we want to be the legal team that pursues compensation and justice on your behalf.

Call (601) 265-6869 today to discuss your case with legal professionals.

Potentially Dangerous Farm Equipment & Machinery

If you have worked in the agricultural industry for a long time, then you know just how many different types of heavy machinery and equipment pieces there can be at the average worksite. You also know that safety needs to be the number one priority at all times. Otherwise, the machines and equipment that once made your work easier can be the direct cause of life-changing injuries.

Our Jackson farming injury attorneys have extensive experience handling all types of injury and work injury cases. You can put your case in our hands and be confident that we know how to develop it. We can even work with agricultural experts to get a better understanding of the equipment or heavy machinery that caused your injury. It is all about going above and beyond to make sure that your case is as strong as it can be.

Let us know if you were hurt by any of these pieces of machinery or more:

• Tractors: Agricultural workers who work around tractors must be always made aware of their locations and when they are in use. Likewise, a tractor operator must be careful to steer clear of all workers to avoid a serious accident.
• Backhoes: Digging with a backhoe to prepare crops, install irrigation lines, etc. can become a dangerous situation if the backhoe is defective. For example, if the backhoe’s arm becomes uncontrollable, then it could swing and hit a worker.
• Combines: A combine harvester is an essential piece of equipment on farms that grow grain crops. When defective, a combine can pose a crush, caught-inside, or laceration risk, though.
• Corn processers: To expedite the process of husking and shelling corn, many farms utilize a corn processer or husker. If such a machine becomes defective, the biggest risk to workers is being pulled partially inside the machine while it is in operation.
• Haulers: Moving crops rapidly through a gathering or production area of an agricultural site can be made quicker with a hauler that utilizes conveyor belts and moving scoops. Injuries caused by haulers are among the most common in agricultural settings.
• Augers: Large augers are often used on farms to drill deep holes into the soil. Severe injuries can occur if an auger is defective, such as lacerations.

Our team is also well-versed in cases involving silo accidents. Silo collapses are extremely dangerous and can seriously injure any nearby workers. Gaps in the grain stored in the silo can also cause a severe hazard. Workers who are instructed to inspect the grain or other stored material and walk across it can suddenly become trapped inside such a gap or void, potentially being crushed or suffocating.

Catastrophic Injuries Caused by Defective Machinery

In an instant, a defective piece of agricultural equipment can result in a worker suffering a life-changing or life-threatening injury. The type of injury suffered will depend on what piece of equipment became defective and how. You do not need to search far to find a law firm that can work on your case, no matter what injury you have suffered, though. We are familiar with serious injury claims and lawsuits that involve many different forms of injury.

Catastrophic injuries suffered in agricultural or farm accidents can include:

• Amputations: Defective pieces of heavy machinery can cause a caught-in accident, which involves part of a worker’s body being caught inside the moving pieces of the machine. Most often, a caught-in accident results in an amputation such as the loss of a finger, hand, or arm.
• Brain injuries: A blow to the head in an agricultural accident can result in a traumatic brain injury (TBI). For example, if a worker is struck by the arm of a backhoe, then they might suffer a brain injury, even if they had a hardhat on.
• Spinal cord injuries: Falls from heights and accidents involving heavy agricultural machines can result in a spinal cord injury. In severe cases, spinal cord damage can cause immediate quadriplegia or paralysis that affects all four limbs.
• Permanent disfigurements: Burn injuries, electrical injuries, and severe lacerations caused by defective farm equipment can leave the worker permanently disfigured. If the disfigurement is in a highly visible area like the face, then it could increase the value of the workers’ injury claim.

Workers’ Compensation or Personal Injury Claim?

When you have been injured by a piece of agricultural equipment, should you file a workers’ compensation claim or a personal injury claim? It depends on the details of your injury and accident. But there might be a chance that you get to file both types of claims, which will maximize your case’s potential to collect the largest amount of necessary compensation.

If you are hurt at work and have workers’ compensation insurance, then we will want to explore this avenue for getting you the benefits that you need to recover. If your injury was caused by a defective piece of machinery or farm equipment, then the manufacturer of that device might be liable for any damages you have incurred that were not covered by workers’ compensation. For example, if a defective mower caused you to suffer a laceration injury, then you could get your medical costs covered through workers’ compensation insurance while also pursuing non-economic damages (pain, suffering, etc.) through a personal injury case.

Meet with Our Farming Injury Attorneys

The sooner you begin your farming injury claim, the sooner you will feel a little less stress about the entire situation. Get our Jackson agricultural injury lawyers on your side today. We are standing by to help you manage all aspects of your case from start to finish.

For a free consultation with our firm, dial (601) 265-6869 now.

Agricultural Injuries FAQ

• When should you report your injury to your employer?
  After suffering an injury while working on a farm or agricultural property, you should report it to your employer as soon as possible. Ideally, your employer will know about the accident and injury immediately. If you wait too long to tell them, then you might lose the option to use workers’ compensation at all.
• What happens if you are partially to blame for your farm work-related injury?
  You might be blamed for your farming accident. You might even admit that you accidentally did something wrong that caused it. Does that mean you are unable to make a financial recovery? Not in Mississippi. The state uses a pure comparative negligence rule that allows you to demand compensation from any other party that is at least 1% liable for your damages. Also, workers’ compensation is a no-fault insurance system that lets you get full benefits even if you are fully responsible for the accident.
• What happens to the defective piece of machinery?
  After a piece of farming equipment causes a worker injury due to a defect, the employer might contact the manufacturer to have the machinery replaced or repaired. This is not good for your injury claim. If the machine is altered in any form before you can file a claim, then you will lose the best piece of evidence to prove that the machine was defective. It is important that you call an attorney right away and tell them what happened, so they can take the appropriate steps to ensure the defective equipment is not tampered with or removed from the property before it can be inspected.