Farm Accident Claims in Ireland

Employment, contract and visitor status matter

The legal framework can differ according to why the injured person was on the farm and who controlled the activity or danger involved.

The Occupiers' Liability Act expressly preserves an employer's duties towards employees. An employed worker's accident should not be reduced to a visitor claim merely because it happened on farm premises.

Tractors and machinery are significant farm hazards

The Health and Safety Authority identifies tractors and machinery as a principal source of farm accidents. Its guidance describes mechanisms including entanglement in power take-off equipment, crushing beneath machinery parts, being caught in mechanisms, being crushed between vehicles and being struck by objects from machinery.

HSA precautions include:

• ensuring PTO shafts are fully guarded;
• keeping machinery guards and safety devices present and working;
• stopping machinery and disengaging the PTO before clearing a blockage or carrying out maintenance;
• adequately supporting raised machinery before working beneath it;
• keeping machinery in good working order and addressing defects;
• securing loads and avoiding trap zones;
• not carrying a passenger unless a proper passenger seat is provided; and
• providing suitable operator training and using safe work practices.

These precautions do not determine liability in an individual case. The machine, task, people involved, available guards, instructions, maintenance history and causal sequence must be established from evidence.

Workplace safety and occupiers' duties

Employer duties

For employees, section 8 requires the employer, so far as reasonably practicable, to ensure safety, health and welfare at work. Depending on the circumstances, this can require a safe system of work, safe plant and machinery, suitable training and supervision, and appropriate protective equipment.

Duty to visitors

Under current section 3 of the Occupiers' Liability Act 1995, an occupier owes a visitor a common duty to take reasonable care in all the circumstances so that the visitor does not suffer injury or property damage because of a danger existing on the premises. The current statutory factors include the probability of danger and injury, probable severity, the practicability and cost of precautions and, where relevant, the social utility of the activity.

Recreational users and trespassers

Section 4 applies a different duty to recreational users and trespassers: an occupier must not intentionally injure them or act with reckless disregard. Current section 5A also addresses risks willingly accepted by a visitor or recreational user. The correct classification and application of these provisions are fact-specific.

The current revised framework includes amendments made in 2023. Older summaries of the Occupiers' Liability Act should not be copied without checking the revised Act.

What does a farm accident claim need to examine?

The injured person's own conduct may also be relevant. It should be evaluated with the entire sequence of events, not used as a shortcut to assume either full responsibility or no responsibility.

For employed-worker claims, read the parent Accident at Work Claims guide. Where PPE is specifically involved, see Personal Protective Equipment Injury Claims.

Evidence to preserve after a farm accident

First obtain appropriate medical attention and avoid creating any further danger. Depending on the circumstances, potentially relevant evidence may include:

• the precise date, time and location of the incident;
• the injured person's work or entrant status and reason for being there;
• an accident report and any contemporaneous account;
• photographs or video of the area, machine, controls, guards and warnings, where safe and lawful;
• the machine's make, model, serial details and condition, if known;
• risk assessments, safe-work procedures and task instructions;
• training, competence, maintenance, inspection and repair records;
• names and contact details of witnesses;
• medical records and reports addressing diagnosis, treatment and prognosis; and
• receipts and records for any claimed financial loss.

Do not operate, repair, alter or dispose of potentially relevant equipment merely to gather evidence. Preserve what can safely and lawfully be preserved and seek advice.

For a broader checklist, see the Personal Injury Evidence guide. A related diagnosed back injury may also be addressed in the Back Injury Claims guide.

How does the Injuries Resolution Board process fit in?

Workplace-injury and public-liability claims within the Injuries Resolution Board's remit are ordinarily started through the Board. Its current guidance describes an application supported by a medical report and a processing fee. As checked on 2 September 2026, the Board states a fee of €45 for an online application and €90 for an application by email or post.

The Board offers mediation for workplace and public-liability matters where the parties consent. If a respondent does not consent to the Board process, the Board may issue an authorisation that permits court proceedings. An application does not guarantee an assessment, settlement or compensation.

Read how the Injuries Resolution Board application, mediation and assessment process works.

Farm accident claims: common questions