Planting season puts enormous time pressure on North Dakota farms, and that urgency leads to rushed equipment checks, longer hours, and a sharp increase in machinery-related injuries. If you’re hurt by a tractor, auger, planter, or other equipment during spring fieldwork, the decisions you make in the first hours and days can determine whether you recover fair compensation or absorb devastating costs alone. A North Dakota farm accident attorney at Pringle & Herigstad, PC can evaluate your options and protect your right to pursue a claim.
Why Is Planting Season So Dangerous for Farm Workers?
Agriculture consistently ranks among the most hazardous industries in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, agricultural workers have an increased risk of on-the-job deaths and injuries. Planting season, typically April through June in North Dakota, intensifies those risks for several reasons.
Narrow windows for planting force long shifts, sometimes 16 hours or more per day. Fatigue reduces reaction time and increases the likelihood of entanglement in moving parts. Equipment that sat idle through winter may not have been properly inspected. Wet or uneven fields create unstable ground conditions that contribute to tractor rollovers, one of the leading causes of farm machinery fatalities nationwide. Seasonal workers or family members may be operating heavy equipment with limited training.
What Types of Injuries Does Farm Machinery Cause?
Farm equipment is designed to cut, till, compress, and move heavy loads. When something goes wrong, the injuries tend to be catastrophic.
Common machinery-related injuries during planting season include:
- Crush injuries from tractor rollovers or equipment tip-overs
- Traumatic amputations caused by power take-off (PTO) shafts, augers, and tillage implements
- Fractures and spinal injuries from falls off equipment
- Entanglement injuries when loose clothing or limbs contact rotating parts
- Chemical exposure from fertilizers, herbicides, or anhydrous ammonia applied during planting
Many of these injuries occur in remote locations far from hospitals, which delays treatment and worsens outcomes. The severity of farm machinery injuries often means extended recovery periods, multiple surgeries, and permanent disability.
What Should You Do Immediately After a Farm Machinery Injury?
The steps you take in the immediate aftermath of a machinery injury protect both your health and your legal options.
Get emergency medical attention. Farm injuries can involve internal bleeding, crush syndrome, or chemical exposure that may not be immediately apparent. Call 911 or get to the nearest emergency room. Even if an injury seems manageable, get a professional evaluation. Medical records created shortly after the incident are critical evidence.
Report the injury. Notify the farm owner, employer, or property owner as soon as possible. If you’re working for a third party, such as a custom harvesting crew or equipment dealer, report to your direct supervisor and the landowner. Create a written record if you can.
Preserve evidence from the scene. Photograph the machinery involved, the location of the incident, any visible injuries, weather and ground conditions, and the positions of equipment. If the machinery malfunctioned, note the make, model, and any visible defects. Demand that no repairs or modifications to the equipment occur before it can be examined.
Keep all medical records and expenses. Save every document related to your treatment: hospital bills, prescription costs, physical therapy records, and notes about how the injury affects your daily life and ability to work.
What Are Your Legal Options When Workers’ Compensation Doesn’t Apply?
Here is where North Dakota farm injuries differ from most workplace accidents. Agricultural employers in North Dakota are generally exempt from mandatory workers’ compensation coverage under state law. While some farm employers voluntarily carry coverage through North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance, many do not. That means injured agricultural workers often cannot rely on the workers’ compensation system for medical bills and wage replacement.
However, the absence of workers’ compensation coverage also means injured workers are not barred from filing a civil lawsuit. Depending on the circumstances, a third-party claim may be available against:
- The employer for negligence (inadequate training, unsafe equipment, or failure to follow safety standards)
- A manufacturer or distributor for a defective product (missing safety guards, faulty hydraulics, or design defects)
- A property owner for hazardous conditions on the land
- A maintenance or repair company that improperly serviced the equipment
North Dakota follows modified comparative negligence rules, which means you can recover compensation as long as your own fault is not 50 percent or more. Any damages awarded are reduced by your percentage of fault. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issues agricultural safety standards and guidance that can help show whether work practices met widely recognized safety expectations, which may be relevant to proving negligence.
How Can You Protect Your Right to Compensation?
In North Dakota, most general personal injury claims must be filed within six years of the date of injury. Wrongful death claims must be filed within two years of the date of death. While six years may seem like a long window, evidence deteriorates quickly in farm injury cases. Equipment gets repaired, sold, or scrapped. Witnesses’ memories fade. Field conditions change with every season.
Taking these steps early strengthens your claim:
- Consult an attorney before speaking with insurance adjusters or signing any documents
- Request copies of any incident reports, safety inspection records, and equipment maintenance logs
- Identify all potentially responsible parties (employer, equipment manufacturer, property owner, maintenance provider)
- Follow your medical treatment plan completely, as gaps in treatment are used to argue your injuries aren’t as serious as claimed
An attorney experienced in agricultural injury claims can also engage accident reconstruction specialists and agricultural safety experts to establish exactly how the injury occurred and who bears responsibility.
Talk to a North Dakota Farm Injury Attorney TodayPringle & Herigstad, PC has represented injured North Dakotans since 1909. If you or a family member was injured by farm machinery during planting season, we can evaluate your case, explain your legal options, and pursue the compensation you need to cover medical bills, lost income, and long-term care. Consultations are free, and you pay nothing unless we recover on your behalf. Contact Pringle & Herigstad, PC today to get started.