Statistics show that farm accidents increase during the rushed long days of the harvest season. Of course there is often property damage and that involves your farm insurance policy. For example: driving into the machine shed with the combine forgetting to pull in the unloading auger or driving the truck away while the box is still up high in the air into a hydro Line.
At this time of year like other busy seasons farms typically have helpers. They can be volunteers or actual temporary employees. One item of coverage that may be overlooked is Employers Legal Liability. If you hire employees and do not have them registered with Workers Compensation you need to be aware that the volunteer or employee can sue the you the employer for injuries sustained due to employer negligence. What does this mean? Another example: you knew your tractor had a broken step. Your employee is injured and is unable to work as a result of injury caused by the broken step. The employee has the legal right to sue you for lost wages and for pain and suffering as a result of your negligence. The courts may at their discretion also charge you with punitive damages.
If you have Employers Legal Liability on your farm policy all you need to do is immediately notify your insurance company of this lawsuit. Of course anyone can sue for anything, whether it is warranted or not and that does happen often enough. With the coverage in place you no longer need to worry about the legal fees, the court costs and possibly losing the farm. With lawsuits and courts you never know how they will turn out. Consider liability issues carefully. Your farm may be able to sustain an uninsured $20,000 loss property loss but what would happen if the courts decided you were negligent and ordered you to pay $200,000 or $2,000,000 to your injured employee?
Be sure to seek advice and purchase insurance from those who understand your business!