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Search forInquest hears farm labourer died instantly from severe head injuries
Wednesday, July 09, 2008, 07:30
Daniel Adams, 32, suffered a fractured skull and serious injuries to his left leg in the accident, which happened in a field in Walton-on-Trent.
An inquest heard, yesterday, how Mr Adams, of Leet Court, Hands-acre, Staffordshire, was employed by James Startin, director of Startin Farms, and was working in Little Neville's field, off Catton Road, when he died.
The tractor, which was towing a cultivator and rolling unit, was being driven by Edward Glover, Mr Startin's son, also employed as a farm labourer.
Derby Coroner's Court heard that Mr Glover had been asked by his father to cultivate the potato field off Catton Road, which involved driving up and down the length of the field on October 2, 2007.
Mr Adams sat with Mr Glover in the cab for a few minutes before jumping out to check the work.
Mr Glover told the inquest he had been driving the tractor at between three and four mph and had seen Mr Adams over his right shoulder.
He said: “The next time I saw Dan he was to the left of me and I kept going a little bit further.
“The next thing I knew was when I felt a bump and I checked behind me to see that Dan was there.”
Paramedics and the air ambulance attended but Mr Adams was pronounced dead at the scene, just before 10am.
David Jordan, from the HSE, told the inquest it may never be known why Mr Adams approached the tractor.
He said: “It is clear he did approach the vehicle, and I think that Edward Glover did not see him approach.
“My investigations reveal he got very close to the tractor, sufficiently close that he got trapped underneath the tractor.
“It is a very tragic accident.”
David Semeraro, pathologist at Derby Hospitals NHS trust, said Mr Adams would have died instantly and the cause of death was a severe head injury.
The inquest was due to resume today.
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