San Antonio Farm Accident Lawyer
San Antonio Farm Accident Lawyer Serving Central and South Texas
The San Antonio farm accident lawyer team at Ley de Janicek has 30 years of experience providing representation for injured farmworkers and families of farmers killed in these dangerous jobs. Agricultural workers face life-threatening hazards, from tractor rollovers on farm-to-market roads to grain bin suffocations in Somerset. When farm accident injuries could have been prevented, you need a farm accident attorney in San Antonio who understands the legal processes involved in agricultural work in Texas.
Our personal injury lawyers help ranch hands, pickers, field crews, breeders, irrigation techs, trainers, maintenance crews, drivers and operators, seasonal staff, hay baling crews, wranglers, and other types of farm workers fight to secure maximum compensation.
If you’re an injured farmer or were harmed in an agricultural accident, a farm and ranch accident attorney in San Antonio can explain your legal options and the best opportunity to recover a fair settlement or court verdict. Our Texas board-certified personal injury attorneys handle third-party claims on a contingency fee basis. This means clients don’t pay any attorney fees unless we win your case.
To schedule a free case evaluation, use our online contact form or call us at 210-366-4949.
Common Cases Our San Antonio Farm Equipment Accident Injury Attorney Team Handles
The most common types of personal injury claims for Texas farm workers stem from heavy equipment. If you’ve been hurt or lost a loved one, contact a San Antonio farm equipment injury lawyer to determine your legal options.
Field Machinery, Combine, and Tractor Accidents
Rollovers, PTO entanglement, and tractor fall accidents are the most common causes of serious injuries to Texas farmers.
Tractor Rollovers and PTO Entanglement
Power take-off (PTO) entanglement can result in amputations or fatalities. Under OSHA 1928.57, PTO shafts, which transfer power to implements, must have proper guarding. When employers bypass this, serious injuries follow. Additionally, many San Antonio crush injury claims stem from hydraulic system defects on tractor-mounted skid steers and front-end loaders.
OSHA regulations state that certain tractors must be equipped with Rollover Protective Structures (ROPS) installed.
- John Deere rollovers in Texas often result from defects in brake linkage that limit roll-over protective structures (ROPS).
- Kubota tractor and skid steer rollovers are often caused by rollover protective structure defects, especially in specific RTV models. Additionally, there is a Kubota class action lawsuit regarding soy-based wiring, leading to a variety of problems.
Combines, Plows, Disks, Harrows, Cultivators, Chisels, Rippers, and Rototillers
This heavy equipment can roll over on uneven ground, crush farmers when hydraulic systems fail, or attachments shift. Additionally, sprayer rigs add additional chemical exposure risks.
Our experienced farm accident lawyers in San Antonio are experienced with Kubota and John Deere tractor lawsuits, as well as third-party claims against equipment manufacturers.
PTO, Auger, Rotary Cutter, Mower Deck, and Hay Baler Accidents
The most common types of negligence PTO, auger, rotary cutter, mower deck, and hay baler accidents in Texas include missing or broken guards, machines operating while employees clear jams, and defects that allow body parts, hair, or clothing to reach moving parts.
Here are the most common causes of agricultural injuries in Texas:
Augers: contact with rotating flighting, unclogging while running, lack of guarding, unexpected startup, falls into floor augers, lack of lockout/tagout procedures, and accidentes de electrocución.
Rotary cutters and mower decks: projectiles thrown from the cutter deck, rollovers, blade contact, missing PTO and driveline shields.
Hay balers: clearing jams during operation, access to feed rollers or compression chambers, unexpected startup, ejected bales, loose or missing guards, operator falls, hydraulic system defects, and blind spots for those walking below.
A San Antonio farm equipment accident lawyer can help clients determine whether defective machinery, maintenance issues, or bypassed safety features contributed to the agricultural injuries and assist in seeking compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and other costs.
UTV, ATV, and Skid Steer Accidents
Many farm workers use UTVs, ATVs, and skid steers. Skid steer and ATV accidents in San Antonio often result in fatal outcomes. If you were hurt on an ATV or skid steer loader, an experienced farm accident lawyer in San Antonio can help you investigate whether you’re eligible to file a lawsuit for design issues, terrain issues, overloading, or other contributors.
Irrigation Equipment Injuries
These systems combine heavy equipment, electrical components, and high-pressure water lines. Many farm workers are severely harmed from hose explosions, malfunctioning pumps, and collapsing pivots.
Common causes of farm accident injuries involving irrigation systems include:
- exposed belts,
- electrocution,
- employers failing to train on safe shutdowns and lockouts, and
- falls accidents involving pivots, platforms, or tanks without proper footing.
Our San Antonio farm accident lawyers help injured farmworkers ensure those responsible are held liable and fight to recover compensation on their behalf.
Common Property Hazards and Farm Accident Claims in Bexar County
Silo and Grain Bin Accident Cases
Texas leads the country in engulfment suffocation deaths. Silo gas poisoning is another serious risk. Fall accidents from grain bin entry points and structural collapses from weakened grain walls or overloaded silos further add to this. OSHA sets strict standards for grain facilities. Silo and grain bin accidents in Texas are often fatal. If you’ve lost a loved one in a San Antonio farm accident, a wrongful death attorney can investigate the circumstances and fight to secure the resources needed to help you move forward.
Structural Collapse
Structural collapse can lead to explosions, electrocutions, or crush the people inside in certain situations.
- Grain Bins, Silos, and Elevators: collapse, engulfment, and explosions from grain dust.
- Barns, Sheds, Hay Lofts, Stables, Outbuildings, and Lean-Tos: collapse from weak framing, rust, lack of floor supports, and ground shifting.
- Trenches, Pits, and Manure Lagoons: earthen dams and large berms collapse from maintenance issues.
- Hay Lifts, Feed-Storage Bunkers, and Hoisting Systems: defective or failing components.
- Utility Poles/Towers: vehicle collisions with power poles or communication towers leading to electrocution or explosions.
- Livestock Pen Panels, Corrals, Gates, and Chutes: rotting posts or rails, and weakened gates.
If you need help recovering compensation after being injured in a structural collapse, a San Antonio farm accident lawyer from our law firm can help you gather evidence, determine fault, and fight for the settlement or trial award you deserve.
Chemical and Pesticide Exposure Injuries
Texas has more chemical emergencies than any other state. Common causes of farm accident injuries involve exposure to:
- Benzene and petroleum-based solvents
- Insecticides and pesticides, like Paraquat
- Grain-bin pellets
- Acid and chlorine-based disinfectants and sanitizers
- Fertilizer nitrates
- Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) from manure
- Methane from manure storage
- Manure slurry gases (ammonia, carbon dioxide)
Our personal injury lawyers offer dedicated representation for victims of pesticide exposure in Texas. We gather evidence showing how negligence or failure to warn farm workers about dangerous substances contributed to the serious injury. Our law firm ensures every at-fault party is held responsible and calculates the long-term impacts, including future medical care, lost income, earning capacity, and permanent disability in insecticide and chemical exposure cases.
Agricultural Injury Claims For Seasonal Workers in Texas
Seasonal agricultural workers in Texas often rely on piece-rate pay. This pushes crews to complete tasks faster in already dangerous settings. In San Antonio, industrial vehicle accidents also happen often, as temporary laborers are shuttled to sites in overcrowded or unsafe vehicles. Temporary farm worker injury cases require careful investigations. We can help navigate the legal process to help ensure growers, labor contractors, supervisors, or outside operators are held accountable for unsafe environments.
Farm and Ranch Drowning Accident
San Antonio farm accidents involving drownings can occur in the following circumstances:
- Ponds: Drownings happen when children and employees underestimate hazards around soft banks, deep holes, or uneven depths while playing, working, or pulling cows or calves out after birth.
- Irrigation Canals and Ditches: Drownings from falls into irrigation canals or side chutes and being swept into deeper water, with rescuers also at risk.
- Open manure lagoons or liquid storage pits: Drownings from trucks, tractors, or other machinery overturning into waste lagoons or flooded areas.
- Well shafts and confined spaces with water: Drownings after falling into water beneath toxic gases in confined areas.
Under Texas statutes, San Antonio drowning accident claims are similar to other liability cases. Property owners can be held accountable if the water source was unmarked, uncovered, or otherwise unsafe.
Common Types of Farm Accidents in San Antonio and the Surrounding Land
Livestock Injury Cases: Handling Equipment Accidents, Animal Injuries, and Wildlife Auto Accident Claims
Livestock leads to a significant portion of Texas agricultural injuries.
Ranches are more equipped with modern handling technology. However, this can create a higher risk alongside the unreliability associated with larger animals, in general. In Texas, hydraulic squeeze chutes and head gates are essential for cattle operations. They also crush people when mechanical issues arise, though. Handling systems requires users to maintain them regularly. When neglected, routine cattle work turns into catastrophes.
Additionally, animal injuries, in general, are equally devastating. A 2,000-pound bull’s charge will kill most people. Standard horse kicks generate forces exceeding 2,000 pounds per square inch. If the victim is lucky enough to only be kicked once, they’ll still suffer shattered bones and traumatic brain damage. In these situations, owner liability disappears if they fail to warn about animals they knew or should have known were dangerous, don’t maintain handling facilities, or have negligently designed systems.
Texas exotic game ranches are seen more frequently throughout the Hill Country. Ranchers face additional liability when dangerous non-native species like axis deer or wild boar escape and lead to crashes or hurt a person. Our San Antonio farm accident lawyer team is also experienced in litigating cases where haulers improperly load trailers, resulting in overturns and multi-party liability.
Collisions with wildlife add another dimension to the complexity. However, our Texas farm accident lawyers are certainly not strangers to cattle highway accidents. Here, liability depends on whether the county is “open range” or “closed range,” with different standards applying to each.
County | Horse, Mule, Donkey | Cattle | Hog | Sheep | Goat |
Atascosa | ✔ | ✔ | |||
Bandera | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Bexar | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Blanco (05/24) | |||||
Comal | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Guadalupe | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Gillespie | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Hays | ✔ | ✔ | |||
Karnes | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Kendall | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Kimble | |||||
Medina | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Wilson | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Dairy Farm Accident Cases
Texas dairy farming operation cases differ from traditional ranching. Staff can slip on perpetually wet surfaces. Also, many dairy workers suffer from rotator cuff tears, burns, brain damage from kicks, and fatalities from manure exposure in storage facilities. The dairy worker injury rate is twice the national average for all industries. Texas dairy operations that do not carry workers’ compensation insurance face significant liability when these predictable workplace injuries occur. A Bexar County dairy farm accident lawyer can help you recover maximum compensation.
Egg Farm and Poultry Work Injury Cases
Poultry and egg production facility workers often suffer amputations in processing equipment accidents in Texas. Also, the atmosphere inside poultry houses contains extreme levels of ammonia, dust, and dander that cause occupational asthma, chronic bronchitis, and other respiratory diseases. OSHA reports poultry processing as one of the most hazardous industries. In Texas, extensive use of contract labor often leaves injured workers without resources unless an experienced farm accident lawyer from Janicek Law can pierce through complex employment structures to identify liable parties.
Apiary, Vineyard, and Other Specialty Agriculture Operations
These cases require specialized legal knowledge.
Commercial beekeepers are at risk of potentially fatal mass stinging events, particularly with Africanized hybrid bees now established throughout South Texas.
Texas Hill Country vineyard staff face pesticide exposure that can cause long-term neurological damage, along with other frequent incidents.
In Central Texas, pecan operations are prone to slips and falls from mechanical tree shakers and respiratory diseases from mold in storage facilities.
While organic vegetable farms avoid synthetic insecticides, they demand intensive manual labor that leads to other issues of their own.
Texas hydroponic and greenhouse operations present confined-space risks, risks from nutrient solutions, and risks from automated climate control systems. The Texas Specialty Crop Program acknowledges these operations often lack comprehensive safety protocols, while many specialty crop workers fall outside traditional safety training programs, making employers potentially liable for agricultural injuries when they fail to remedy known industry-specific hazards.
San Antonio Ranch Accident Claims
Fence Building and Property Maintenance
Fence building and maintaining the land, in general, come with many hidden threats. Post hole diggers crush hands and cause severe back trauma when augers bind unexpectedly. Barbed wire lacerations require victims to seek medical attention immediately and can result in deadly infections. T-post drivers cause traumatic head damage and herniated discs from repetitive overhead impacts. These routine tasks become deadly when ranchers fail to provide proper safety gear, adequate training, or push maintenance staff to complete repairs quickly in dangerous conditions.
Water System and Windmill Accident Cases
Traditional windmills are fall hazards. Well pump electrocutions occur when employers don’t use adequate lockout/tagout procedures or when old wiring isn’t properly grounded. Staff can slip on algae-covered edges or become trapped by mechanical aerators, while children face particular risks around unfenced water storage areas. These farm accidents are often preventable and stem from not maintaining the area, inadequate safety protocols, or failure to provide fall protection gear for elevated work.
Hunting Lease Accidents on Ranch Property
Texas ranchers increasingly rely on income from hunting leases. However, they can be held responsible in certain circumstances. Common causes of hunting lease accident claims in Texas incluir:
- 30% – tree stand accidents, typically from 15-20 feet
- 17% – accidental shootings
- 15% – ATV/UTV crashes
- 13% – fires
- 25% – other
Property owners who charge visitors for using or leasing Texas hunting areas can be held accountable if they don’t keep the premises reasonably safe. State regulations also mandate specific warnings in hunting lease contracts. When ranchers don’t assess and repair dangers on paths or anywhere on their land, paying guests may be able to sue for financial compensation.
If you’ve been hurt or a loved one died on someone else’s land, a Texas hunting accident lawyer from our law firm can evaluate your eligibility and fight to maximize your settlement.
Common Causes of Farm Accidents and Texas Farm Accident Compensation
Equipment Manufacturer and Defective Machinery
When farm equipment lacks adequate safety features or contains defective designs, equipment manufacturers can be held liable under strict product liability theories in Texas.
Negligencia del propietario
Property owners must maintain safe conditions on leased land. This includes repairing dangerous conditions, maintaining equipment, and providing adequate safety training. When owners know about hazards but fail to address them, they face liability for resulting agricultural injuries.
El Texas Workers’ Compensation Act allows many farmers to opt out of workers’ compensation coverage. These non-subscriber employers face greater liability because they cannot assert common-law defenses such as contributory negligence or assumption of risk.
Agricultural Chemical Company Liability
Chemical manufacturers face liability for failure to warn about dangers, defective product formulations, and inadequate safety instructions. Mass tort litigation against insecticide companies demonstrates how agricultural workers can seek compensation.
Independent Contractor vs. Employee Status For Workers’ Compensation Claims in Texas
Ranchers and farmers often misclassify employees as independent contractors to avoid paying premiums for workers’ compensation benefits and liability. However, our agricultural injury attorneys use the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act to examine the actual relationship: who controls details, supplies necessities, and supervises methods. Seasonal farm workers labeled “contractors” are often legal employees. This matters because true independent contractors can’t receive workers’ compensation benefits but can sue for full damages, including pain and suffering.
However, our law firm avoids workers’ compensation claims altogether when possible. Instead, we file third-party claims when contractors, manufacturers, land owners, or anyone besides employers contribute to serious injuries. We push for injured agricultural workers to receive the full compensation they deserve.
OSHA Regulations and Agriculture Laws in Texas
Chemical and Pesticide Laws
- Texas Agriculture Code 76: Governs pesticide application, licensing, and safety.
- Agricultural Hazard Communication Act: Texas “Right to Know” statute directing farmers to inform staff of hazardous substances.
- EPA Worker Protection Standard (40 CFR Part 170): Duty for pesticide safety training, application notifications, and decontamination supplies.
- Texas Pesticide Control Act: Addresses drift liability when products lead to harm.
- Texas Commercial Fertilizer Control Act: Regulates fertilizer composition and application.
- Anhydrous Ammonia Regulations: Storage and handling requirements for ammonia.
Animal Liability Laws
- Texas Farm Animal Liability Act: Legal rights for cases involving livestock.
- Fence Law and Stock Law: Liability for roaming animals varies depending on the county.
- Rabies Control Act: Requirements for vaccination.
- Texas Equine Activity Act: Liability for personal injury claims involving horses.
Vehicle, Facility, and Equipment Safety Laws
- Farm Vehicle Special Provisions y Farm Equipment Transportation: Weight limits and highway regulations for farm-equipment collisions.
- Animal and Crop Facility Interference: Safety standards for grain storage facilities.
Labor and Farm Worker Protection Laws
- Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA): Legal rights of migrant seasonal farm workers.
- Agricultural Fair Labor Standards Act Exemptions: Defines agricultural vs. non-agricultural jobs.
Special provisions apply to minors. The Texas Family Farm Labor Exemption allows minors to work on parent-owned land but still imposes a legal duty to keep the child safe. The Student Farmer Exemption permits FFA and 4-H students to perform certain tasks under certain circumstances.
Landowner Liability Limitations
- Texas Agritourism Act: Limits for farmers offering tours, corn mazes, pumpkin patches, etc.
- Texas Recreational Use Statute: Limits for non-paying guests on agricultural land.
Wrongful Death Claims for Fatal Farm Accidents in San Antonio
When a person dies in a farm accident in Texas, families can file a wrongful death claim against employers, manufacturers, or others responsible to seek compensation for loss of financial support, companionship, funeral, and burial costs, and other damages. Fatal farm accidents, including tractor rollovers, grain bin suffocations, PTO entanglements, and explosions, often could have been prevented. Our San Antonio fatal farm accident lawyers investigate whether OSHA violations, defects, or employer negligence contributed to the death, pursuing all liable parties, including non-subscriber employers who opted out of carrying workers’ compensation insurance and face full liability when responsible for a death.
Texas Statute of Limitations for Filing Farm Accident Injury Claims
In Texas, victims generally have two years to file a lawsuit. The time limit means families must take legal action quickly to preserve their legal options.
Locations Our San Antonio Farming Accident Injury Lawyer Team Serves
Bexar County Agricultural Communities and Surrounding Regions
We represent injured agricultural workers throughout Bexar County, including:
- Adkins
- Atascosa
- China Grove
- Converse
- Elmendorf
- Fair Oaks Ranch
- Grey Forest
- Helotes
- La Vernia
- Lacoste
- Losoya
- Lytle
- Macdona
- Martinez
- Natalia
- San Antonio
- Somerset
- St. Hedwig
- Stone Oak
- Von Ormy
These communities form the agricultural backbone of our region, with dairy farms, cattle ranches, and crop operations.
Texas Hill Country
Our practice extends throughout the Hill Country, serving injured workers in:
- Bandera
- Blanco
- Boerne
- Comfort
- Fredericksburg
- Junction
- Kerrville
The region’s exotic game ranches, vineyards, and traditional ranching operations present unique risks.
South and Central Texas
We also handle farm accident cases in:
- Devine
- Kenedy
- New Braunfels
- San Marcos
Here, large-scale agricultural operations employ hundreds of workers.
Contact a San Antonio Farm Accident Attorney For a Free Consultation
Insurance companies employ teams of attorneys to minimize settlement offers. Injured workers need equally skilled representation to protect their legal rights to fair compensation. Our San Antonio farmer injury attorneys hire safety experts, medical professionals, and other expert witnesses to build strong personal injury claims on behalf of clients. If insurance companies refuse to settle fairly, our law firm is prepared to fight for recovery in trials. We have extensive experience navigating county-specific stock laws, visitor cases, and other state liability issues.
We offer free case evaluations so clients don’t pay any attorneys’ fees or upfront costs unless we win on their behalf. To schedule a free consultation, use our contact form or call us at 210-366-4949.
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