Farm Equipment and Tractor Accident Lawyer in Kern County
Our Kern County farm equipment and tractor accident lawyers represent injured agricultural workers and their families throughout Bakersfield, Arvin, Delano, Shafter, Wasco, and the surrounding farming communities. We investigate the cause of the injury, identify all liable parties, and work to recover the compensation our clients deserve.
Hablamos Español. Representamos a trabajadores agrícolas lesionados en todo el Condado de Kern.
Common Farm Equipment Accidents in Kern County
Every day, farm workers throughout Arvin, Shafter, Delano, Wasco, and nearby agricultural corridors operate tractors, combines, sprayers, and other heavy machinery. These machines improve productivity, but they also create serious injury risks when equipment is defective, poorly maintained, or operated without adequate safety protections.
Common farm equipment accidents include tractor rollovers, PTO (power take-off) shaft entanglements, combine and harvester accidents, auger entrapment, forklift accidents, equipment crush and run-over injuries, hydraulic system failures, equipment fires, chemical exposure, falling equipment, and machinery entanglement. Because farm machinery contains moving parts that can pull a worker in within seconds, the resulting injuries are often severe.
Amputations
Farm equipment frequently causes traumatic amputations of hands, arms, feet, legs, and fingers, particularly when safety guards on PTO shafts, augers, conveyors, and harvesting equipment are missing or defective.
Crush Injuries
Workers can be trapped beneath machinery, pinned between equipment, or crushed by moving components.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Falls from tractors, rollovers, and struck-by incidents often cause serious head injuries with long-term consequences.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Heavy machinery accidents can cause partial or complete paralysis that requires lifelong care and rehabilitation.
Severe Fractures
Broken bones in the pelvis, hips, legs, arms, and spine are common in rollover and crush incidents.
Wrongful Death
Many farm equipment accidents are fatal, and families may have legal claims when negligence, defective equipment, or safety violations contributed to the death of a loved one.
Agricultural injury cases call for thorough investigation, because more than one party may share responsibility for unsafe equipment and dangerous working conditions.
Tractor Rollover Accidents and ROPS Requirements
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and university agricultural safety programs have repeatedly identified rollover incidents as among the deadliest hazards facing agricultural workers. Most fatal rollovers happen when a tractor operates on uneven terrain or along canal banks, when an operator drives on a slope, when a heavy load affects stability, when a wheel strikes a ditch or obstacle, or when excessive speed causes a loss of control.
Because rollovers are so common and so deadly, OSHA regulations require many agricultural tractors to be equipped with a Rollover Protective Structure (ROPS).
What Is a ROPS?
A Rollover Protective Structure is a safety frame or cab designed to protect the operator if a tractor overturns. Combined with a seat belt, a properly functioning ROPS creates a protective zone that helps prevent crushing injuries during a rollover, and safety studies have consistently shown that functioning rollover protection dramatically reduces the risk of fatal injury.
When Missing ROPS Creates Liability
When a tractor that should have rollover protection lacks a ROPS, serious legal issues arise. Potentially liable parties may include farm owners, agricultural employers, farm labor contractors, equipment rental companies, and maintenance providers, and the failure to provide required safety equipment may serve as evidence of negligence.
When a Defective ROPS Creates Product Liability
A ROPS alone does not eliminate liability. If the rollover protection fails, collapses under an expected load, separates from the tractor, or was defective, the equipment manufacturer may also be responsible, and a defective ROPS can turn a survivable accident into a fatal one. In that situation a rollover can support both a negligence claim against responsible parties and a product liability claim against the manufacturer. The manufacturer side of these cases is covered in detail on our defective farm equipment page.
When Defective Equipment Is Involved
When defective machinery causes or worsens an injury, workers’ compensation may not be the only source of recovery. California’s product liability law allows an injured worker to pursue a separate claim against the manufacturer, distributor, or seller of equipment that was unreasonably dangerous, and the worker generally does not have to prove the manufacturer was careless. Those claims can mean significant compensation on top of any workplace benefits.
Because the manufacturer side of these cases typically depends on the specific defect, whether a design flaw, a manufacturing error, or a failure to warn, we cover it in depth on our defective farm equipment page. If a defective tractor, ROPS, PTO guard, or other component contributed to your injury, we will investigate that claim alongside the negligence claims described here.
Farm Labor Contractor Liability for Equipment Injuries
Many agricultural workers in Kern County are employed through farm labor contractors rather than directly by growers. These contractors play a significant role in staffing operations throughout Arvin, Delano, Shafter, Wasco, and other farming regions, and they often provide labor crews, transportation, supervision, and the equipment used during the work.
When a contractor requires workers to use unsafe machinery, it may be liable for the resulting injuries. Contractor negligence can include providing defective equipment, assigning workers to unsafe tractors, failing to inspect machinery, ignoring known hazards, allowing equipment to run without required safety features, failing to provide proper training, and using machinery with missing guards. A contractor cannot avoid responsibility simply because the equipment belongs to another company. If the contractor knew or should have known that equipment was unsafe and still required workers to use it, liability may arise.
Multiple Defendants Are Common
Farm equipment accident cases frequently involve several responsible parties, including agricultural employers, property owners, equipment manufacturers, equipment rental companies, maintenance contractors, and distributors and suppliers. Identifying all of them matters, because serious agricultural injuries often bring substantial medical expenses, lost income, permanent disability, and long-term care needs.
Our legal team investigates maintenance records, safety inspections, training practices, equipment specifications, accident reports, and witness statements to determine how the injury happened and who should be held accountable.
$22.1
million
Pedestrian Accident
$15
million
Products Liability Explosion
$11
million
Premises Liability
$10
million
Oilfield Accident
$10
million
Motorcycle Accident
$9
million
Industrial Accident
$8.8
million
Police Misconduct
$8
million
Pedestrian Accident
Compensation Available After a Farm Equipment Accident
Farm equipment injury cases often involve more than workers’ compensation. Defective machinery, missing safety guards, malfunctioning rollover protection, and negligent maintenance can give rise to claims for long-term disability or fatal injury. Depending on the case, an injured worker or surviving family may recover compensation for medical expenses and future treatment, lost wages and lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, permanent disability, disfigurement, prosthetic devices, rehabilitation, home modifications, and wrongful death damages.
Because many farm equipment accidents involve catastrophic injuries, the long-term financial consequences can be enormous, and early investigation is essential to preserve evidence and identify every potential claim. The attorneys at Chain | Cohn | Clark work with agricultural safety experts, engineers, accident reconstruction specialists, and medical professionals to build strong cases for injured farm workers and their families.
Frequently Asked Questions
Liability depends on why the tractor malfunctioned. If the equipment had a design defect, a manufacturing defect, or an inadequate safety warning, the manufacturer may be responsible under California product liability law. In other cases, liability can extend to maintenance providers, equipment owners, rental companies, agricultural employers, or farm labor contractors that knowingly allowed unsafe machinery to remain in service. A thorough investigation is often needed to identify everyone responsible.
ROPS stands for Rollover Protective Structure, a safety system designed to protect tractor operators during rollover accidents. Because tractor rollovers are the leading cause of farm fatalities, rollover protection is a critical safety requirement. When a required ROPS is missing, improperly installed, or fails during an accident, that failure may serve as evidence of negligence or support a product liability claim against the manufacturer or other responsible parties.
In some circumstances, yes. Farm labor contractors may be liable when they require workers to use unsafe equipment, fail to inspect machinery, ignore known hazards, or provide inadequate training. Depending on the facts, claims may also exist against equipment manufacturers, agricultural employers, property owners, or maintenance companies. Determining liability takes a careful review of the contractor’s role, the condition of the equipment, and the circumstances of the accident.
Get Help at Chain | Cohn | Clark
If you or a loved one suffered injuries in a tractor rollover, combine accident, PTO entanglement, equipment malfunction, or other farm machinery incident in Kern County, contact our farm equipment and tractor accident lawyers today for a free case review. We proudly represent injured agricultural workers throughout Bakersfield, Arvin, Delano, Wasco, Shafter, and the surrounding farming communities.
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