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FARM EQUIPMENT AND FREIGHT SHAPE WORK IN THE IMPERIAL VALLEY

Farm work makes up a far bigger share of jobs here than in the rest of California. Agriculture accounted for 14.5% of all jobs in the El Centro metro area in October 2023, compared with 2.3% statewide, according to the California Employment Development Department. Cattle, alfalfa and broccoli are the county’s top farm commodities. Alfalfa means hay balers, and balers, harvesters and power take-off shafts can catch a sleeve or glove in a fraction of a second.

Freight adds another layer. The Imperial Valley sits on a major trade route between Mexico and the rest of the United States, and tractor-trailers share two-lane highways with farm equipment, commuters and field crews.

TWO PLACES THAT SHAPE INJURY CASES IN IMPERIAL COUNTY

The Calexico East Port of Entry and SR-7. About 453,000 commercial trucks cross the border at Calexico East each year, carrying about $20 billion in imports and exports, Transport Topics reported in 2023. State Route 7 runs from the port north to Interstate 8 near El Centro. A truck crash on this corridor can involve the driver, the trucking company, a Mexican or U.S. carrier, and the company that loaded the trailer, each with different insurance. See our El Centro truck accident page.

Federal vehicles are common near the border too. A claim involving a federal vehicle, such as a Border Patrol truck, follows federal rules and federal deadlines, not the California deadlines that apply to most crashes.

The gypsum plant at Plaster City. The wallboard plant at Plaster City, about 17 miles west of El Centro, is one of the Imperial Valley’s largest employers, the Imperial Valley Press reported in 2025, and it runs its own locomotive to move gypsum. Industrial sites like it depend on conveyors, rail equipment and powered machinery. A worker hurt at a plant like this usually has a workers’ compensation claim, and may also have a claim against the company that made or serviced the machine involved.

Off-road crashes add to the region’s trauma load. Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Brawley says it sees high volumes of trauma because of the nearby desert off-road areas, where as many as 120,000 people visit the dunes on a holiday weekend during the winter months.

A SEVERE INJURY HERE CAN MEAN A FLIGHT TO SAN DIEGO

Imperial County has two hospitals serving about 180,000 people and no tertiary care center, according to a 2021 study in the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine. El Centro Regional Medical Center uses a rooftop heliport to send patients to major medical centers in nearby communities. UC San Diego Health, a Level I trauma center, has served Imperial County patients since 1976.

That has practical effects on an amputation case. The first ER visit may be in El Centro or Brawley while the surgery, rehab and prosthetic fitting happen in San Diego, so the records are split between two counties and we gather both. Round trips to San Diego for follow-up surgery, therapy and prosthetic appointments add up over years, and those travel costs can be part of your claim. Keep a log of every trip. Prosthetic limbs also wear out: a lower-leg prosthesis can last two to five years, depending on use, according to Hanger Clinic.

If you worked in the fields or a packing shed, an amputation may also end that kind of work for good. A claim should account for the work you can no longer do, not just the wages you missed while healing.

HURT ON A FARM OR AT A PLANT

Workers’ compensation covers most job injuries in California, including farm work. It pays medical care and part of your lost wages. In exchange, it is usually the only claim you can bring against your own employer (Labor Code section 3602).

Two situations open more doors:

• Your employer had no workers’ compensation insurance. If an employer fails to carry workers’ comp, an injured worker may sue that employer directly for damages (Labor Code section 3706). On farms with seasonal crews and labor contractors, whether coverage was actually in place is one of the first things we check.
• Someone other than your employer caused the injury. Labor Code section 3852 keeps your right to sue “any person other than the employer.” That can include the maker of a baler or harvester with a defective guard, an equipment owner or a grower that was not your employer, or a driver who hit you near a field. Whether a grower or labor contractor counts as your employer under workers’ compensation rules depends on the facts, and it is one of the first questions we look at.

More on job injuries is on our El Centro workers’ compensation page.

IMMIGRATION STATUS DOES NOT BAR AN INJURY CLAIM IN CALIFORNIA

Many people who work in the Imperial Valley’s fields and packing sheds ask whether a claim could expose their immigration status. California law answers that directly.

Labor Code section 1171.5 says state-law protections, rights and remedies are available “to all individuals regardless of immigration status” who work or have worked in California, except a job-reinstatement remedy barred by federal law. And in a California personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit, Evidence Code section 351.2 says evidence of a person’s immigration status “shall not be admitted into evidence, nor shall discovery into a person’s immigration status be permitted.”

You can talk to us in English or Spanish, and the conversation is confidential.

DEADLINES THAT COME UP IN IMPERIAL COUNTY CASES

The general deadline for an injury lawsuit in California is two years from the injury (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). Three local situations are much shorter or different:

• A state or local government vehicle or road. If an irrigation district truck, a county vehicle or a dangerous county road was involved, a written claim usually has to be presented within six months (Government Code section 911.2).
• A federal vehicle. Border Patrol and other federal vehicles fall under federal claim rules with their own deadlines.
• Care at a public hospital. If you believe a medical error led to an amputation, the deadline rules for medical claims apply (Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5). Both Imperial County hospitals and UC San Diego Health are public entities, so a written government claim is usually due within six months. Gomez Trial Attorneys handles medical error cases too.

SELECTED CASE RESULTS

Gomez Trial Attorneys has recovered more than $1 billion for clients over 20 years. That includes $15,000,000 for a client who was pregnant with twins when a semi-truck hit her on the freeway. One twin died and the other was born prematurely.

Results depend on the facts of each case. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

See more on our El Centro catastrophic injury page and our case results page.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

CAN A FARMWORKER SUE FOR AN AMPUTATION INJURY?

Usually you can’t sue your direct employer, because workers’ compensation covers job injuries. You may be able to sue a company that was not your employer, such as the maker of the machine. If your employer had no workers’ comp insurance, you may be able to sue the employer directly. Your immigration status does not take away these rights under California law.

WHAT IF THE CRASH INVOLVED A TRUCK FROM MEXICO?

If the crash happened in California, you can bring a claim here. Cross-border trucking cases can involve several companies and insurers, so identifying all of them early matters.

I WAS FLOWN TO SAN DIEGO FOR SURGERY. CAN THE EL CENTRO OFFICE STILL HANDLE MY CASE?

Yes. We gather records from hospitals in both Imperial and San Diego counties, and our El Centro and San Diego offices work on cases together.

WHAT IF A BORDER PATROL OR OTHER GOVERNMENT VEHICLE HIT ME?

Act fast. Claims against California public agencies usually require a written claim within six months. Federal vehicle claims follow federal rules. Call us before any deadline passes.

WHAT DOES IT COST?

Nothing up front. We work on contingency, so our fee comes from what we recover, and there is no attorney’s fee unless we win.

TALK TO AN EL CENTRO AMPUTATION INJURY LAWYER

Call 833-GET-GOMEZ or contact us online for a free case review. Our El Centro office is at 825 Main Street, El Centro, CA 92243. Hablamos español.