Farmers are not only farmers. They are mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, coaches and players, and community volunteers. When someone suffers an injury while working and needs to take time off to heal, they are often also taking time off from the other parts of their life.

“Living in smaller rural communities, we depend on each other. When someone gets hurt while working, it impacts more than the business. It often impacts the community as well,” says Ryan Dick, Health and Safety Consultant with Workplace Safety and Prevention Services (WSPS).

One of the ways farmers give back to their communities is by proactively taking steps to protect themselves and their workers. However, if an injury occurs, another way farmers can contribute to their communities is by having a return-to-work plan. “A good return-to-work plan that includes Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) coverage will help an injured worker take the necessary time to heal and return to work when ready,” says Ryan. “Having a plan helps to minimize the disruption to the worker’s family and community.”

Manage injuries to minimize impact

To protect yourself, your family, and your workers, you need to complete a risk assessment. “You need to understand what the hazards are and how someone could get hurt in order to plan properly and mitigate the risk,” says Ryan. Here are a few other recommendations from Ryan to minimize the impact of an injury if something happens.

1. Have an emergency response plan. Once you have identified the potential dangers that could lead to a serious injury, develop emergency response plans and train your workers so that you can act quickly if something goes wrong. Getting to a worker right away may reduce the severity of the injury, which could reduce the recovery time.
2.  Consider WSIB coverage. Insurance coverage from WSIB is another way to protect your workers. Financial stability really helps to reduce the impact an injury has on the injured workers’ family, which has a positive impact on the community. “If you have family members working on your farm, you can apply for WSIB coverage for them. You can also apply for yourself as the owner,” says Ryan.
3. Verify that contractors have WSIB coverage. If you hire contractors to build a barn or do some other type of construction work on your property, it’s a good idea to verify that the people you hire have their own WSIB coverage. “In certain circumstances, the farm owner could be considered the constructor, which means they could be liable if someone gets hurt,” explains Ryan. “When the contractors you hire have their own WSIB coverage, it protects you in a situation like this and provides the injured worker with compensation.”
4. Report critical injuries. Ontario workplaces are required to report a critical injury (ontario.ca/page/reporting-workplace-incidents-and-illnesses) that occurs during the course of work—even if the injured worker is temporary or a hired contractor. When injuries are reported and an investigation is conducted, it helps to determine why it happened. This information is very important to prevent the same thing from happening to someone else.
5. Support each other. “When you suddenly can’t do the things that you are used to doing, it can be difficult to accept,” says Ryan, thinking about strategies to maintain positive mental health during these types of situations. When someone suffers a serious injury and is going through recovery, they need the support of their family, friends, and community.

For more health and safety information, visit the WSPS Ag Safety Centre and the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA).

The information in this article is accurate as of its publication date.