A 47-year-old man was airlifted to Tallaght Hospital this afternoon following an accident, before being later transferred to Beaumont Hospital.
It is believed that he suffered serious injuries in a fall from a teleporter (telescopic handler) close to Shinrone, Co. Offaly.
The man’s 11-year-old son was also believed to be involved in the accident; he was taken to Tullamore Hospital with injuries that have been described as “not life threatening”.
The incident occurred between 3:00pm and 4:00pm this afternoon (Thursday, August 24). Gardai attended the scene.
The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has been notified of the accident; inspectors will visit the scene tomorrow.
Separate incident
In a separate incident, in March of this year, an Offaly man died when he was struck by a tractor on his farm. That incident happened close to Birr. The farmer involved was in his 70s.
It has already been an alarming year for farm accidents; falls from height or being struck by falling objects are key factors in agricultural injuries.
According to Eddie Wall, an inspector with the HSA, 2,000 farmers – based on currrent trends – will be treated in hospital this year as a result of farm accidents. He says that such figures show that farming is a dangerous business.
He recently explained that 67% of those injured on farms are unable to work for between 10 and 100 days. “Who’s going to run the farm while you’re not there?” he questioned.
“Three-quarters of all farm accidents involve the farmer themselves. The next 20% are direct family members.”
Meanwhile, a revised version of the ‘Code of Practice for Preventing Injury and Occupational Ill-Health in Agriculture’ (farm safety Code of Practice) was published by the HSA in June. It was developed to reflect technical progress in the sector, as well as changes in farming practice, equipment and accident trends.