Tasmanian farm contractor dies after headbutt from dairy cow while riding helmetless ATV

Coroner Madeleine Wilson concluded that Karl Wayne Stokes, a 50-year-old farm contractor, died from injuries sustained when a dairy cow head-butted him while he was riding an all-terrain vehicle at Beattie-Lester Beef in Lileah, Tasmania’s north-west. Stokes had been moving cattle when the animal veered into the lane; he slowed his ATV, attempted to pass, but the cow turned and struck him on the head. Without his usual full-face helmet, he suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, suspected sinus thrombosis, skull fracture, lumbar compression fracture and ear bleeding, and died two days after being airlifted to Royal Hobart Hospital.

The coroner described his failure to wear a helmet as an aberration, likely increasing the severity of his injuries. The farm’s safety policies required helmets and had clear guidelines, though they lacked specific instructions on cattle handling per Safe Work Australia’s guide. Stokes, a veteran of 35 years in cattle work, leaves a wife and three children.