Jimenez

FACTS

We begin with a description of the brush chipper, and then describe the circumstances surrounding the accident, the lawsuit, and the trial court’s ruling and rationale. We quote liberally from the trial court’s statement of decision in describing machinery and matters not in dispute. 1. The Brush Chipper The Morbark brush or wood chipper is a mobile commercial machine mounted on a frame on a single axle. It may be hitched to a towing vehicle, as in this case, or it can stand on its own. “At its rear, it has a feed tray mounted on pivot points which permit [the feed tray] to rotate upward into a closed position when the machine is traveling or otherwise not in use. During use, the tray rotates down to essentially a level position which then permits access into the feed chute and extends the feed area to the rear of the machine.” The feed tray is about 55 inches wide, and extends out 24 inches from the feed chute. The feed chute itself is 36 inches long, so there is a total distance of about 60 inches from the outer edge of the feed tray, along the feed chute, to the steel teeth of the feed wheel. The mouth of the feed chute, like the feed tray, is 55 inches wide. The…