A farmer sustained fatal injuries after being knocked over by a bale of hay which came loose while being stacked in a shed on his farm in Co Louth five years ago, an inquest has heard.
Peter Osborne, 75, a father of four from Flowery, Ballabony, Ardee, Co Louth died at Tallaght University Hospital on 26 July 2019, ten days after he had suffered major brain, spinal and pelvic injuries in the incident on his farm.
The inquest heard seven people have been killed in a ten-year period as a result of accidents involving bales of hay and silage.
The deceased's eldest son Patrick Osborne who was helping his father on the farm told a sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court that he had been using a tractor and loader to stack the bales of hay while his father was supervising the operation.
Mr Osborne said he was placing the bales in stacks of four in the shed when some bales became loose with one bouncing on the ground before knocking his father over.
He estimated each bale weighed between 300 and 400kg.
Mr Osborne said his father was knocked over flat on his back after the bale hit him in the chest and he was rendered unconscious.
He recalled that his father regained consciousness after about five minutes and wanted to sit up but he was informed but he should not be moved.
The inquest heard Mr Osborne was brought by ambulance to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda but was later transferred to Tallaght University Hospital on 19 July 2019 due to concerns about injuries to his pelvis.
The deceased’s son said his father was originally doing well following surgery to his pelvis at Tallaght and he was expected to be moved out of an intensive care unit when his condition suddenly deteriorated to the shock of both his family and hospital staff.
"Something doesn’t add up. We thought we were on the pig’s back and would be able to get him home," said Mr Osborne.
He said his family was informed on the morning of 26 July 2019 that his father was seriously ill and not going to survive and he died later that day at 3.30pm.
Medical records showed the deceased had suffered fractures to his neck, back and pelvis as well as internal bleeding in the brain and pelvic area.
A pathologist Kevin O’Hare said a post-mortem showed Mr Osborne had died from multiple traumatic injuries while he had also developed sepsis and multiple organ failure.
Questioned by coroner Aisling Gannon, Dr O’Hare said he believed Mr Osborne’s death was due to the "cumulative effect" of the various injuries rather than any single one.
An inspector with the Health and Safety Authority Catriona Glancy said it was well known in the farming community that freshly-baled bales of hay are prone to move and shift quite suddenly.
"It is a well-known hazard," said Ms Glancy.
She said the HSA had issued guidelines in September 2015 that round bales of hay should only be stacked to a maximum height of three bales and to a maximum of two for bales that are not very soft or dense.
However, Ms Glancy said the guidelines had been updated in November 2020 as a result of the circumstances in Mr Osborne’s case to stress the importance of carrying out a risk assessment before stacking bales on farms.
The inquest heard that an investigation by the HSE of the fatal incident involving Mr Osborne directed that no criminal prosecution should arise.
Ms Glancy noted that the deceased was the party responsible for work carried out on his farm.
She also highlighted that there have been seven fatalities involving bales of either hay or silage between 2011 and 2020 including four specifically due to being struck by a moving bale.
A jury of five females and one male returned a verdict of accidental death.
The jury also recommended that the HSA should provide more information to farmers regarding health and safety on all aspects of farming activities "in every possible way".
