If you are injured on a farm because of someone else’s negligence, you have the right to pursue a claim and to be compensated for the injuries you have suffered including the out of pocket losses you have incurred. You have no obligation to talk to any insurance company representative without first speaking to a lawyer.  You should meet with a personal injury lawyer who can guide you through the personal injury case process.

Yes. If you are injured in an accident on a farm, a claim can be brought against the Farm and the owners of the land if they are owned by separate individuals or companies.  To file a claim a farm accident personal injury lawyer will first want to meet with you to discuss the particulars of your claim. Thereafter, your lawyer will contact the farm and the farm’s insurance company to initiate a claim. In addition to investigating the cause of the accident, your lawyer will obtain all medical records and understand the full extent of your pain, suffering and out of pocket losses. Your personal injury lawyer will attempt to settle your claim and/or file a lawsuit against those that caused your injuries. In most cases, a successful claim will be paid by the insurance company from the farm or landowner.

The amount of compensation you are entitled to depends on many factors including the full extent of your physical injuries and the total amount of out of pocket losses you have suffered. In terms of physical injuries, the value ranges from very minor injuries which would be worth very little to very serious injuries such as fractures, injuries that require surgery and hardware, loss of limbs and brain injuries that have significant values. The seriousness of the injury and the impact on your life ultimately determine, the value of the case.  In addition to pain and suffering, it is also important to calculate past and future lost earnings, and past and future out of pocket losses for medical expenses. If you are unable to work in the future because of your injuries, future lost earnings can be a substantial part of a personal injury lawsuit. Serious farm injury cases can have extremely high settlement and verdicts, ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to multi-million dollars.

If you are injured on a farm or by a farm vehicle your claim lies against the farm and the owner of the farm vehicle which both likely carry insurance coverage. Certain agricultural vehicles and trailers are required to maintain NY State automobile liability insurance coverage. The vehicle must carry a minimum insurance coverage of $25,000 for bodily injury and $50,000 for death for a person involved in an accident. Additionally, the farm or landowner likely carries insurance in the event of an injury on the farm.

Generally, the time frame to pursue a claim if you are injured on a farm or by a tractor or other farming equipment is 3 years from the date of the accident. This time limit will be extended if the person who was injured is a child or minor. Other limitations would apply if the farm or land is owned or operated by a municipal entity. Limitations with respect to a municipal entity are generally shorter than other time frames, so it is important to consult with a personal injury attorney to ensure your potential claim is not lost forever.

Maybe. Whether you have a right to file a claim depends on how the accident happened. If you were injured because of the conduct or negligence of another person, business or company, and if you’ve suffered injuries, you have a right to be compensated for the pain, suffering and economic losses you have suffered.

A farm owner has a duty to use reasonable care to keep the farm in a reasonably safe condition for the protection of all people who visit the farm. If a farm owner negligently maintains their property, and if you suffer an injury because of the farm’s negligence, you have the right to bring a lawsuit against the farm owner or the landowner.  To bring a successful claim your farm accident personal injury lawyer must prove: (1) that the premises were not reasonably safe; (2) that the defendant was negligent in not keeping the premises in a reasonably safe condition; and (3) that the defendant’s negligence was a substantial factor in causing your injury. If these elements are proven, you are entitled to recover for your injuries.

For a personal injury lawyer to successfully pursue your claim the lawyer must prove the defendant was negligent. Negligence is lack of ordinary care. It is a failure to use that degree of care that a reasonably prudent person would have used under the same circumstances. To prove negligence an injury lawyer must prove that the defendant owed you a duty of care, that the defendant breached the duty of care, and as a result caused you to suffer injuries. The injuries can be physical as well as economic.

Probably. An employer may be held liable for acts of an employee that cause injury to another person if the act was foreseeable and was in the furtherance of the employer’s business. An employee’s act is generally within the scope of employment when it is in the furtherance of the  business and when the employer is, or could be, exercising some degree of control over the employee.

Yes. Even if you are partially at fault for causing the accident or injuries you have suffered, you can still bring a claim in New York against the other at fault party. The law says that even if you contributed to the accident and were “contributorily negligent” or have some amount of “comparative fault” you can still recover damages for the amount the other party was at fault. In other words if you were 40% at fault and the farm, landowner or equipment owner was 60% at fault, you can recover 60% of your damages from the other party. In terms of dollars under this example, if your case is worth $1,000,000, you would be entitled to recover $600,000 from the at fault party.