Is a claim for falling from a tree while working on a farm legitimate? The ladder which I climbed up had been taken away briefly, so I jumped and broke my ankle. My employer insists my accident was due to my own carelessness, not his.
The legitimacy of a claim for falling from a tree while working on a farm will depend primarily on the question of who was the liable party for your accident. This may stem from the question of why you were in the tree in the first place, and why your employer had taken away the ladder. You may be entitled to compensation if you were in the tree performing duties which were assigned to you by your employer. However there are other factors to consider.
Falling from a height is one of the most common reasons for fatalities and severe injuries on farms in the USA, meaning that strict regulations are in place to prevent such incidents from occurring. The appropriate action may have perhaps been not to have climbed into the tree in the first place, but to have used a cherry picker in order to safely elevate you to a level which was appropriate to perform your duties, as well as offering stability.
Your employer may be partially liable to your claim for falling from a tree while working on a farm if the ladder was taken away – however briefly – and this was in breach of health and safety regulations. However this may also be a case of contributory negligence, as you took the decision to jump rather than calling or waiting for assistance. Unless there was nobody else around – which would be a further violation of health and safety practices – and you had no communication with fellow workers whatsoever, it would be advised to have waited until assistance had returned.
The compensation rewarded for your claim for falling from a tree while working on a farm can be reduced if it is determined that you were at least partially responsible for your injuries. However if your employer had violated health and safety guidelines you may still be entitled to some compensation. In order to establish the exact circumstances surrounding your claim for falling from a tree while working on a farm and determine the identity of the liable party – or parties – you are advised to consult a personal injury lawyer at the first opportunity.