Ask a Solicitor: Injuries on a farm following contractor work
A contractor carrying out works generally owes a duty to complete those works with reasonable skill and care and to leave the area in a reasonably safe condition.
I engaged a contractor earlier this year to carry out drainage works on part of my farm. The works involved excavating a number of trenches and installing underground drainage pipes in a field close to one of our farm roadways.
The contractor completed the job and left the site. A few days later, my 16-year-old son was walking along the farm roadway to help move some livestock when part of the ground beside the roadway suddenly gave way beneath him. It appears that a trench had not been properly backfilled or compacted. He fell several feet into the collapsed area and suffered a fractured ankle together with injuries to his shoulder which required hospital treatment.
Thankfully, his injuries are not life-threatening, but he has been unable to participate in sports and has missed a significant amount of school. I am concerned about how this happened and whether the contractor is responsible.
Do we have a claim, and who would be liable in circumstances such as these?
I am sorry to hear about your son's injury. Incidents like this are understandably upsetting, particularly on a family farm where family members may move around the lands and assume that completed works have been left safe.
Whether there is a claim will depend on the precise facts, but a contractor carrying out drainage or excavation works generally owes a duty to complete those works with reasonable skill and care and to leave the area in a reasonably safe condition.
If a trench was not properly backfilled, compacted, protected, or made safe, and that created a foreseeable risk of injury, the contractor may be liable for the resulting loss. The main question would be whether the contractor's work, or failure to make the area safe, caused or materially contributed to the accident.
Evidence will be important. This may include photographs of the collapsed area, details of the works carried out, witness accounts, medical records, engineering evidence, and any written agreement, invoice, quotation, or messages relating to the contractor's engagement.
The fact that the accident happened on your land does not automatically mean that you, as landowner, are legally responsible.
While occupiers owe duties under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1995, the courts would also consider whether a third party created the danger and whether the landowner knew, or ought reasonably to have known, about it.
Where a hazardous condition was created by a contractor and the injury flows from defective or unsafe work, liability may rest primarily with the contractor or their insurer. However, liability can be apportioned between parties depending on the evidence.
It is also relevant that your son was lawfully present on the farm and was carrying out ordinary farm-related activities. This was not a case of an unauthorised trespasser entering unexpectedly. He was entitled to expect that an area where works had been completed would not contain a hidden and unsafe trench.
In any personal injuries claim, the nature and extent of the injuries will be assessed. A fractured ankle and shoulder injury may involve pain, reduced mobility, medical expenses, physiotherapy, missed school, and disruption to sport and daily activities. These matters would all be relevant to damages.
Practical steps should be taken quickly. Photograph the area, keep records of all treatment, retain receipts and correspondence, identify witnesses, and preserve details of the contractor and the works. On farms, ground conditions can change quickly, so early evidence is particularly important.
Most reputable contractors carry public liability insurance for claims arising from alleged negligence during their work. If liability is established, the claim would usually be handled by the contractor's insurer.
The outcome will depend on the evidence, including who created the danger, who knew about it, and whether reasonable steps were taken to make the area safe.
You should seek advice as soon as possible from a solicitor who specialises in personal injury claims. They can assess liability, identify the correct party to pursue, deal with the insurer, advise on medical and engineering evidence, and ensure that the claim is brought within the applicable time limits.
Karen Walsh, from a farming background, is a solicitor practising in Walsh & Partners, Solicitors, 17, South Mall, Cork (021-4270200), and author of Farming and the Law. Walsh & Partners also specialises in personal injury claims, conveyancing, probate and family law.
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While every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this article, solicitor Karen Walsh does not accept responsibility for errors or omissions howsoever arising, and you should seek legal advice in relation to your particular circumstances at the earliest possible time.
