Jackson Farm Accident Lawyers
Fighting for the rights of farm workers throughout Mississippi
Farm workers have some of the most dangerous jobs in the U.S. workforce. Each day they are working with large, unpredictable animals, big machines that can malfunction, dangerous chemicals and other hazards. The agriculture industry in Mississippi ranges from family run farms to massive agribusiness operations. It is an industry where you might see entire families living and working on the farm sometimes doing dangerous work and risking serious injury.
At Merkel & Cocke, P.A., we are here to represent farm workers who have been injured on the job, or who have been diagnosed with an occupational injury. Our team of Jackson workplace injury attorneys will investigate your case and hold the responsible parties accountable for your losses. We offer free initial consultations, and you will never pay attorney fees upfront. You do not pay any attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.
Mississippi's agriculture industry and how it contributes to the state economy
Agriculture is the largest industry in Mississippi. It employs about 260,000 people, which is about 17% of the states' workforce directly or indirectly. The agriculture industry contributes about $7.4 billion--which is about 22% of the state's total economy. Mississippi has about 37,100 farms covering more than 19.7 million acres of farmed land. The average Mississippi farm is comprised of about 264 acres of land with the highest concentration in the Delta region and they produce poultry, beef, pork, cereals, grains, vegetables and fibers. (Growing Mississippi.org)
Agriculture makes a significant contribution to all 82 counties in the state while generating 16 agricultural crops:
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Mississippi Department of Agriculture & Commerce (MDAC)
Examples of farm accidents
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that there were 157 fatal workplace injuries nationally among agricultural workers in 2016. In Mississippi there were six fatal workplace injuries in the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting segment, which is down from the eight fatalities the year before.
Some of the typical farm accidents that cause injury and death include:
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Types of farm accident injuries
Farm accidents are commonly caused by defective machinery or equipment, or because of human error. There are many different types of complex, heavy machinery used in agriculture and many opportunities for the equipment to be defective or malfunction and cause serious injury.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that there were about 2,050,000 full-time workers in production agriculture in the United States in 2017. In 2016, 417 farm workers died in work-related accidents at a rate of 2.14 deaths per 100,000 workers. Transportation accidents, which includes tractor overturn accidents, were the leading cause of death for farmers and farm workers. Every day, about 100 agricultural workers suffer a lost-work-time injury.
Examples of farm accident injuries might include:
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Workers' compensation program and agricultural workers in Jackson
While the Mississippi Workers' Compensation program does not require employers of farm workers to carry workers' compensation insurance, they may choose to purchase it to protect their employees. If they employ workers, the farm or agribusiness will likely have a general liability policy for the farm.
In cases where a farm worker becomes injured in a workplace accident, an experienced Jackson workers' compensation attorney from Merkle & Cocke may be able to identify a third party whether due to a defective machine or piece of equipment. A third-party personal injury claim can potentially make a far more beneficial result than you would recover from workers' compensation, which only covers medical expenses and a portion of the worker's lost wages. A personal injury claim would cover all the worker's wage and benefits losses, medical expenses and pain and suffering and other losses related to the accident injury.
At Merkel & Cocke, we have experience investigating, settling and litigating farm worker injury cases. Given that each case is unique, our Jackson workplace injury lawyers offer free consultations so that we can hear the details of your case and then discuss your legal options for how you want to proceed. Just because your employer does not have workers' compensation insurance does not mean that you have no way to recover compensation for your injuries. It is vital that you know your rights, and that you act on that knowledge to protect yourself and your family from a potential financial disaster after a workplace injury.
Trust our Jackson legal team to represent you after a farm accident injury
You deserve skilled legal representation after you have suffered a serious farm accident injury. At Merkel & Cocke, our workplace injury attorney team has helped many people injured in farm accidents. From our office in Jackson, we serve injured parties throughout Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas. We invite you to put our decades of experience to work in your case. Call us at 662-627-9641 or complete our contact form.
Types of Cases We Handle
Our Oxford attorneys handle a variety of cases, including:
Jackson Office
622 Duling Avenue
Suite 221
Jackson, MS 39216
Phone: (601) 653-1103