A 35-year-old Oregon man who suffered catastrophic injuries when he was pulled head first into a wood chipper filed a $16.7 million lawsuit Tuesday against the machine's Iowa manufacturer.

Noly Chouinard was on the job working for a tree-cutting company about 20 miles east of Eugene in Leaburg when a rope got sucked into the wood chipper and pulled him in with it, according to his lawsuit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

Chouinard was positioned on the ground and wasn't tied to the rope, but the rope apparently had snagged on a pruned branch that he was feeding into the chipper, according to an investigation by the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division. As Chouinard was sucked toward the blades, Chouinard's knee hit an emergency-off bar, saving his life, his attorneys say.

But Chouinard still suffered serious injuries: a crushed skull, bleeding near his brain, brain damage, a broken leg, a torn meniscus and torn ligaments and tendons, according to his lawsuit.

The incident happened on Feb. 12, 2016.

Chouinard is suing Vermeer Manufacturing Co., based in Pella, Iowa, for $700,000 in medical bills so far and $16 million for pain and suffering. The company didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

Chouinard faults Vermeer Manufacturing for allegedly failing to make use of "readily available technology" that could have shut off the machine when his body came into contact with it, according to the suit.

According to the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration, 39 workers have died in wood chipper incidents over 10 years from 1996 through 2005, the latest years from which data is available.

Chouinard is suing only the manufacturer, and not his employer, Sperry Tree Care Co. of Eugene. Lourdes Sanchez, one of the attorneys representing Chouinard, said the tree-care company can't be sued because Oregon law sets forth the workers compensation system as the only remedy for employees who are accidentally injured.

State regulators found that Sperry Tree Care had committed safety violations. The state proposed a fine of $2,150, but it's unclear if the company ended up having to pay all of that fine or just some of it.

Chouinard's lawyers say the father of three used to commute by bicycle 20 miles to work and hike on weekends but now can't run and has trouble walking on uneven ground.

Read the lawsuit here.

-- Aimee Green