An elderly farmer has died as in accident involving a tractor in rural Perthshire. Neil Abercrombie was crushed after the tractor, that he was driving, rolled down a slope in a field in the Pitlowe area of Glencarse on Monday 5th July 2010.
By the time the 70 year old was freed from the wreckage, emergency services were unable to revive him.
The Health & Safety Executive have launched an investigation into the incident.
The Health & Safety Executive released figures last month showing that there were 38 deaths in the UK agricultural industry in the year up to the end of March 2010. That figure is a significant increase on the 25 recorded in the previous year.
Following the accident a spokesman for the National Farmers Union said that the death was a terrible reminder that farming was the most dangerous job in the UK. The NFU have called for extra steps to be taken to ensure that Health & Safety is paramount in the farming industry.
A spokesman for the NFU said “Any death on a Scottish farm is one death too many, ripping the heart of the farming families. This tragic accident is a sharp reminder to all who work in the industry that farming remains the most dangerous occupation in the country. As farmers we need to wake up to our poor safety record. With harvest just around the corner, farmers and their staff need to ensure that their equipment is properly maintained and that all users are properly trained on how any piece of machinery operates. Last year, 38 farmers and their staff were killed in UK farms. This is an appalling statistic but the reality is that most of these deaths were avoidable. We need farmers and farm workers to take extra steps needed to make this harvest as safe as possible and ensure that no farming families suffer the heartache of having someone killed while working on a Scottish farm.”
Thompsons have years of experience in assisting the families’ of fatal accident victims. We understand the first and most important thing that a family need and demand is answers! Without answers as to what happened and why it happened they cannot move on with their lives, they need to know that no other family will be affected as they have been by the loss of a loved one.
Contact our specialist lawyers today on 0800 0891331 and we will help you obtain the answers to your questions. Our No Win No Fee policy means that we take care of the financial burden of legal action at an already stressful time for clients.
