Published on: March 16, 2015

Richmond, B.C. — Since 2009, there have been 145 equipment and machinery-related serious injuries on B.C. farms and ranches — 11 of them fatal. Devon Smith didn't think she would ever be injured on her farm, but on her 21st birthday, she found herself in Kelowna General Hospital's intensive care unit (ICU).

Just a few weeks earlier, she and her father Allan Smith decided to tackle fixing a fence in the cow pasture, putting in new posts on their Enderby hobby farm. It was a routine job that had been on their to-do list for months.

"I wasn't even thinking anything could go wrong," Devon says. "We had completed putting in six or seven posts already and it wasn't a big deal. I had said to my dad, 'I'm going to go out and ride my horse after.' Well, that never happened."

Devon doesn't remember the incident, but either her loosely-fitted clothing or long hair, or both, became entangled in the post hole auger. An auger is a drilling device that usually includes a rotating screw blade. In this instance, the auger was being powered by the tractor's power take off (PTO).

Devon's father immediately shut down the auger and called for an ambulance. Devon was rushed to Vernon Jubilee and then Kelowna General Hospital where she spent one week on life support for life-threatening injuries: 13 broken or fractured bones, a separated right lung and a stroke to the left side of her body after a carotid artery in her neck collapsed. She spent five-and-a-half weeks in the hospital.

To help employers and workers prevent future injuries, WorkSafeBC is launching a tractor and equipment safety initiative, which includes a new web page with several free online resources. Visitors to the site can download frequently asked questions of working safely with tractors and an equipment and machine safety checklist in English, French, Punjabi and Spanish. There's also a video on how to prevent tractor rollovers.

Visit the WorkSafeBC Tractor and Equipment Safety Initiative for more information: http://www2.worksafebc.com/Portals/Agriculture/WCBInitiatives.asp

WorkSafeBC's Tractor and Equipment Safety Initiative coincides with Canadian Agricultural Safety Week (CASW), which runs from March 15th to 21st.

Today, Devon continues physiotherapy and respiratory treatments weekly in Vernon. She has resumed many of her old activities having just finished a two-year term as the BC 4-H Ambassador, but her perspective on farm equipment safety has changed. In retrospect, she says she was standing too close to the auger, needed to wear fitted clothing and tie her hair back.

"You have to treat everything like you're doing it for the first time," Devon says. "When you're doing stuff that's so routine, you don't think about it as hard as if you were doing it for the first time."

Quotes:

Joy Piehl, WorkSafeBC Manager of Industry and Labour Services
"Whether on a hobby farm, or a large-scale farming operation, there is no greater importance than safety — especially around tractors and power take-offs. These new resources contain great information and prevention tips and resources that anyone who works in the industry can benefit from."

Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Responsible for Labour"Workplace safety is extremely important — we want workers coming home to their families each and every day. WorkSafeBC is an important source of safety information for B.C.'s agriculture sector, and this launch of new agricultural equipment safety resources is particularly timely given this week is Canadian Agricultural Safety Week. Agriculture is an important part of our economy, so let's keep our workers safe and our economy growing."

Wendy Bennett, Executive Director of the Farm and Ranch Safety and Health Association (FARSHA)
"People continue to be seriously injured or killed by tractors every year — whether it is a neighbour, a worker or a family member. Using the roll over protection system including the seatbelt is critical and can save lives."

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Contact:

Trish Knight Chernecki
Media Relations, WorkSafeBC
Tel: 604.232.5814
Cell: 778.871.5841
Email: trish.chernecki@worksafebc.com