Family’s world turned upside-down by farm accident

Wednesday 23 February 2005

The Van Grootel family of Otorohanga had started to think that family crises were part of their everyday life.

A dearly loved father and grandfather had died suddenly, and several family members had been struck down with illness. Just when they thought things couldn't get worse, Yvonne and Tony Van Grootel recently experienced the anguish of seeing their nine-year old daughter seriously injured in a workplace accident.

Yvonne and Tony Van Grootel and their five children farm just out of Otorohanga, in Waikato. Six months ago, while milking the cows, Tony heard a loud scream coming from the dairy shed. Dropping everything, he rushed to the shed to find nine-year old daughter Anna sitting on the floor, blood pouring from her head, her jacket ripped. Parts of her clothing were still attached to the milk pump.

Anna had entered the dairy room and had tried to squeeze past the milk lift pump. The protruding rotating stub was unguarded and quickly caught the side of her jacket. In a split second, the vice-like grip of the pump had her tangled up, smashing her face into the pump and then throwing her to the concrete floor, breaking her left arm in six places.

A distraught Tony stayed with Anna, who was in severe shock, while Yvonne went to get help. An ambulance arrived quickly and attached a GPS on to the wall of the shed, enabling the air ambulance easy access to a safe landing site.

Anna was admitted to Waikato Hospital where she was given urgent treatment and monitored for several days. Six months on, she's still having nightmares about the accident, and they show no sign of stopping soon.

She's back at school, however, and on the road to recovery. Her arm is improving and while there's still a degree of stiffness, which will take time to improve, she can manage most things with the affected arm and is taking things in her stride.

Because the accident happened in a place of work, the Department of Labour's occupational safety and health service was called in to investigate.

When interviewed by OSH, Yvonne and Tony admitted that there hadn't been a sense of urgency to manage the existing mechanical hazards on the farm, including the unguarded pump. Yvonne said this was because only she and Tony were working on the farm, and the machinery had been like that 'forever'.

Tony said they always thought 'things like this happen to other people'. 'One thing we learnt was that a serious accident can be just waiting to happen, even if it takes years to occur.'

The Van Grootels are part of a caring farming community where everyone helps out when the chips are down and there is always support in times of need. They experienced this first-hand after Anna's horrific accident, and are still amazed at the help and support offered by the community.

'People were unbelievable. Cows were milked, farm work done, and I've never seen so much food. Nothing was too much bother,' Tony said.

'We were also pleased that we'd all attended a first aid course, which gave us confidence when the accident occurred. At least we knew the right things to do.'

Tony said the accident had traumatised the family, and he hoped no other family would have to go through what they've suffered in the past six months.

OSH hopes that Anna makes a speedy recovery, and has helped Yvonne and Tony make sure all significant hazards, especially unguarded machinery, that may result in serious harm, have been identified and managed on their farm.

OSH service manager for Waikato Mark Whatnall says the message in this type of case is clear: check your unguarded machinery, and get expert help or advice if necessary.
Pic cap: Nine-year old Anna Van Grootel still suffers nightmares six months after a horrific accident in her parents' milking shed that left her nursing a badly broken arm and facial injuries. Anna Van Grootel (49k)