Can You Sue a Farm Equipment Manufacturer for an Injury?
September 24, 2026 | Article by Chain | Cohn | Clark staff Social Share
Suing a tractor or equipment manufacturer for an injury, such as a power take-off (PTO) shaft amputation, is often possible when a defect in the machine is what caused your injury. If a missing guard, a defective design, or inadequate warnings contributed to the amputation, you may have a product liability claim against the manufacturer, which is separate from workers’ compensation.
If you or a family member lost a limb or were otherwise injured in a farm equipment accident, our farm equipment injury attorneys can review what happened and explain your options. This post covers how PTO amputations happen, when a manufacturer can be held responsible, and how that claim differs from workers’ compensation.
How PTO Shafts Cause Amputations
A power take-off (PTO) shaft transfers power from a tractor to an implement, and it spins fast, generally between 540 and 1,000 revolutions per minute. Once a sleeve, a glove, a bootlace, or a strand of hair catches on an unguarded shaft, it can pull a limb into the machine in a fraction of a second.
This is one reason PTO entanglement is among the leading causes of serious farm injuries, and why so many people who survive an entanglement require serious medical care afterwards. Guards and shields are designed to prevent exactly this kind of contact, so most PTO-related injuries trace back to a shield that was missing, damaged, or removed.
When a Manufacturer Can Be Held Liable
California product liability law holds manufacturers responsible for defective equipment under a rule called strict liability. In practice, that means you typically do not have to prove the manufacturer did anything careless. You only have to show that the equipment was defective and that the defect caused your injury. A defect can take one of three forms:
A design defect, where the equipment was designed in an unreasonably unsafe way, such as a shaft that is hard to guard or a guard that has to be removed to operate or service the machine.
A manufacturing defect, where a particular unit left the factory different from its intended design.
A failure to warn, where the equipment lacked adequate instructions or warnings about a hazard that was not obvious.
A missing or inadequate guard is often analyzed as a design defect. The fact that a guard was missing does not automatically place the blame on the worker; how the machine was designed, sold, and maintained can all affect the question of liability.
A Manufacturer Claim Is Separate From Workers’ Compensation
If you were hurt on the job, workers’ compensation is usually your only claim against your employer, and it provides medical care and benefits regardless of fault. What it does not cover is the full value of your lost earnings or any compensation for pain and suffering you might experience as a result of your injury. A product liability claim against a manufacturer is a separate, third-party claim that can reach those losses, and it proceeds alongside your workers’ compensation benefits rather than replacing them.
These rights do not depend on your job title or your immigration status. Farm workers employed through a labor contractor, workers treated as independent contractors, and undocumented workers can all pursue these claims, and in a civil injury case your immigration status is not admissible as evidence.
How to Protect a Possible Claim
A product liability claim depends heavily on the machine itself as a piece of key evidence. Here are a few steps that you can take to help protect it:
- 1Seek medical treatment as soon as possible. This is extremely important for your own health and safety. Medical records can also often be an important part of a claim.
- 2Preserve the equipment, if you can. Try not to let the machine or the guard, be repaired, returned to a dealer, altered, or scrapped.
- 3Keep any records, including maintenance logs, inspection records, and the owner’s manual.
- 4Take photographs of the equipment, the guard or the place a guard should have been, and the scene.
- 5Speak with an attorney promptly for advice regarding your specific circumstances.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue the manufacturer if I already have workers’ compensation?
Yes. Workers’ compensation is your claim against your direct employer, but it does not prevent you from filing a separate claim against the manufacturer of defective equipment. That third-party claim can recover damages that workers’ compensation cannot, including full lost earnings and compensation for pain and suffering.
What if the guard had been removed before the accident?
A removed guard does not automatically end a claim. How the machine was designed still matters, including whether it could be operated with the guard in place and whether the design effectively invited removal. These questions require thorough investigation, which is one reason reaching out to an attorney as soon as possible is important.
Can I file a claim regardless of my immigration status?
Yes. California law extends injury protections to all workers regardless of immigration status, and in a civil injury case your immigration status is not admissible as evidence. Status does not bar you from pursuing workers’ compensation or a claim against a manufacturer.
Talk to a Kern County Farm Equipment Injury Lawyer
If you or a family member suffered an amputation or crush injury from farm equipment in Kern County, contact Chain | Cohn | Clark to learn whether a claim against the manufacturer may be available.
