Farm safety - crush injuries

A crush injury occurs when the body or a body part is trapped, pinched or jammed under or between objects. The pressure can harm skin, muscles, nerves or bone, depending on the degree of force. Traumatic amputation occurs if enough force is applied. On Victorian farms, the most commonly injured body parts are the hands and fingers.

Most injuries occur during cropping or workshop-based farm maintenance. While anyone of any age who works, visits or lives on a farm may get injured, older people and inexperienced people are at increased risk. The effects of ageing – such as slower reaction times, poor eyesight and reduced strength and agility – make crush injuries more likely.

Simple safety measures can dramatically reduce the risk of crush injuries to you, your family and other farm workers.

Causes of crush injuries on farms

Crush injuries can happen:

• During tractor and quad bike rollovers
• While using heavy equipment
• When moving large hay or wool bales
• While dealing with animals in yards or small spaces
• During logging or cutting firewood
• While moving farm equipment.

Crush injuries can cause compartment syndrome or crush injury syndrome which both have serious consequences. Both require urgent medical attention.

Compartment syndrome

Compartment syndrome can occur when muscles inside the ‘compartment’ of a limb swell so much that blood flow is blocked. The fascia, which covers the muscles, is not very elastic and does not stretch, forcing the pressure from the swelling inwards, compressing nerves and blood vessels. This compression can damage nerves and muscles causing chronic pain and mobility issues. Compartment syndrome can be caused by many things including being crushed under a heavy object.

Crush injury syndrome

Crush injury syndrome occurs when a large area of muscle is compressed and starved of blood flow over a several hours. This causes the muscle cells to break down, releasing acids and other chemicals. When the pressure is removed these chemicals are released and can cause serious damage as they travel to the heart and kidneys.

First aid

First aid of crush injuries require careful assessment. If the area has been compressed for a long time it may be best to wait for emergency services to arrive, or seek advice when you call Triple Zero (000), before removing the crushing weight, as a tourniquet or intravenous fluids may be needed before the weight is released.

However if weight on head, chest, neck or abdomen is not removed the casualty may die from breathing failure, heart failure or blood loss. Even if not apparently badly injured internal damage or rapid deterioration can occur. Seek medical attention.

Preventing crush injuries on farms

Crush injuries on farms can be prevented by taking simple safety precautions. Each type of crush injury hazard requires specific precautions, but some general tips apply.

Farm machinery safety suggestions

Injuries can occur at any time when using machinery. Most machinery-related injuries are crush injuries or amputation of the fingers or hands. General safety suggestions for machinery include:

• Read the manual and pay particular attention to the safety instructions.
• Make sure that all workers on a particular piece of equipment understand how to operate it safely.
• Do not remove or modify safety features and guards. Lack of safety guards is a major factor in crush injuries. If necessary, fit safety shields to cover all moving parts, such as belts and pulleys.
• Regularly maintain and check your machinery. Accidents, including crush injuries, are more common if the equipment is old. You may need to buy new machinery.
• Make sure that clothes such as sleeves and pant legs are not loose or flapping and cannot get caught in the moving parts of a machine. Hair should also be tied up.
• Fit safety signs.
• Do not take shortcuts. For example, take the time to switch off machinery before you make any adjustments.
• Avoid working alone. If this isn’t possible, then tell someone when to expect you so they can come looking for you if necessary. Make this a safety rule for everyone who works on the farm.

Tractor safety suggestions

Tractors cause around 11 per cent of workplace deaths in Victoria. Human error is a major factor. Studies of tractor accidents show that, in most cases, at least one person performed an action that led directly to the injury or death.

Safety suggestions for preventing crush injuries from tractors include:

• Make sure your tractor conforms to current Australian Safety Standards.
• Buy a tractor with safety features such as a seatbelt, reversing beepers and dead man’s seat brake (also known as an operator presence sensing system or OPSS). An OPSS turns power sources off and brakes the tractor when the operator leaves the seat with the engine on and the tractor in gear.
• Install a certified rollover protective structure (ROPS) if your tractor does not have an enclosed cabin.
• Keep the tractor properly maintained and check it regularly.
• Make sure that children and visitors are kept well away from the tractor when it is operational.
• Only start the tractor when you are safely seated. Deaths have occurred when farm workers start the tractor from outside the vehicle.
• Always wear the seatbelt.
• Ban passengers if the tractor does not have a purpose-built seat with a seatbelt. Passengers riding on the mudguard may fall and get crushed by the rear wheel.
• Do not leave the motor running when you are off the tractor making adjustments.
• To avoid crush injuries to the hands, be particularly careful when adding attachments to the tractor and follow all recommended safety precautions.

Quad bike safety suggestions

Quad bikes are the number one cause of death on Australian farms and a major cause of trauma on Victorian farms. Most injuries and deaths involve the quad bike rolling over the rider.

Safety suggestions for using quad bikes include:

• Take a quad bike training course.
• Use the quad bike strictly as instructed by the operator’s manual.
• Only ride on familiar and even tracks.
• Install an appropriate and suitably tested crush protection device (CPD). These are commercially available – contact Farmsafe or your state work health authority (such as WorkSafe).
• Never let children under 16 years of age ride quad bikes.
• Never put passengers on quad bikes.

Grain auger safety suggestions

Safety suggestions for grain augers include:

• Do not remove the intake guard – while removing it may improve the flow of grain, it dramatically increases the risk of crush injuries.
• Use the grain auger strictly as directed. Inappropriate use increases your risk of harm.
• Make sure the emergency stop is near the grain auger inlet.

Livestock safety suggestions

A common type of crush injury from livestock occurs when a body part, such as an arm, gets pinned between an animal and a stockyard or in a crush. The larger the animal, the greater the risk of injury. Safety suggestions include:

• Do not work alone.
• Ensure the animals know you are approaching.
• Minimise the time you spend in the same enclosure as farm animals.
• Be aware that frightened mothers will protect their young if they perceive a threat. For example, alarmed cows may charge.
• Always use appropriate equipment. For example, use bail heads and crushes.
• If you need to yard stock during mating, use separate yards for bulls whenever possible.
• Install a vet gate into your cattle crush to make getting in and out safer.
• When vaccinating or drenching, do not put your arms through the railings – go over the top where possible.

Draw up a farm safety emergency plan

Suggestions for a farm safety emergency plan include:

• Ensure easy access to a suitable and well-stocked first aid kit. Place first aid kits around the farm.
• Ensure that at least one farm worker is trained and current in first aid.
• Keep emergency contact numbers and a copy of your correct (official) address next to the telephone and in farm vehicles.
• Plan routes to the nearest hospital emergency department.
• Talk through your emergency plan with your family, other farm staff and visitors.
• Make sure everyone knows what to do in an emergency.

Where to get help

• Your GP (doctor)
• In an emergency, always call triple zero (000) for an ambulance
• NURSE-ON-CALL Tel. 1300 60 60 24
• National Centre for Farmer Health – Farming Fit videos Tel. (03) 5551 8533
• WorkSafe Victoria Tel 1800 136 089 (advisory service) or 13 23 60 (24-hour emergency line to report serious workplace injuries)
• WorkSafe Victoria Emergency Response Line Tel. 13 23 60 (24-hour emergency line to report serious workplace injuries)
• Farmsafe Australia Tel. (02) 6269 5622
• AgHealth AustraliaTel. (02) 6882 1486
• Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning Tel. 136 186