PIERRE - The South Dakota Supreme Court has reinstated a negligence lawsuit filed by a farm worker who was run over by a tractor two years ago while helping harvest corn in Miner County.

A circuit judge had thrown out the lawsuit, but the high court said in a unanimous ruling that Jeffrey Stone is entitled to a jury trial on his claim that Von Eye Farms was negligent in failing to provide a safe workplace.

Stone had worked about 15 hours when he was injured about midnight. He caught a ride in from the field with Jim Carroll, who was driving a tractor and pulling a wagon loaded with corn to a site where the corn was transferred from wagons onto trucks.

Stone climbed down from the tractor to talk to another worker, who then climbed the tractor steps to talk with Carroll. Stone was standing behind the left front tire of the tractor.

Carroll looked behind the tractor and then backed up, driving over Stone's ankle and leg, according to court documents. Carroll said he yelled twice that he was going to back up, but Stone said he never heard the yells.

Stone later sued, alleging that Von Eye Farms was responsible for Carroll's negligent operation of the tractor and was negligent because it had not provided a safe work place. The lawsuit said the farm's employees were not properly trained or supervised and were required to work under unreasonable conditions.

Circuit Judge David R. Gienapp threw out the lawsuit, but the Supreme Court said the evidence raises questions of fact about whether Von Eye Farms breached its duty to provide a reasonably safe workplace with adequate training and supervision.

A jury also should consider issues related to the farm's argument that Stone's conduct amounted to an assumption of risk, the high court said.

"In the instant case, the alternative to Stone remaining in the path of the moving tractor tire was to have stepped out of the way. However, given the suddenness in which the tractor began to move, a fact question remains with respect to Stone's ability to consider that alternative prior to being run over," Chief Justice David Gilbertson wrote for the court.