Owner of Farm Land Died Due to a Tractor Run Over, Michigan

SUMMARY

In summer 2015, a male farm land owner farmer in his 60s was run over by his Farm All B tractor with a Woods belly mower. The decedent and a family member were working on the damaged belly mower. The decedent reached up from the ground to turn on the tractor. The tractor gear was in reverse. As the tractor moved backward, the mower deck struck the decedent and knocked him to the ground. The decedent was dragged several yards by the mower deck. A tree in the yard stopped the tractor. The family member working with him called for emergency response. After 15-20 minutes, the decedent was removed from under the tractor and transported to a local hospital, where he died five days later from complications of the injuries sustained at the time of the incident.

MIFACE identified the following key and possibly contributing factors:

• Decedent started the tractor from the ground rather than the operator platform/tractor seat.
• Improper tractor shut down procedures.
• Tractor tires not chocked during maintenance activity

MIFACE investigators concluded that, to help prevent similar occurrences, employers should:

• Start tractors from the operator seat only, not from the ground.
• Follow safe equipment shutdown procedures as described in theoperator’s manual.
• When performing maintenance on equipment with wheels, if any wheels are in contact with the ground, block/chock one or more of these wheels in both directions to prevent equipment movement.

Owner of Farm Land Died Due to a Tractor Run Over, Michigan [PDF 733 KB]