Abstract: A sheet metal worker was assisting another employee in spot welding 3.5-ft. lengths of metal rails used to construct the underbody frame of GM vans. The employee would take one rail from a stacked pallet, hand it to the spot welder, and restack the rail on another pallet after the welding was completed. While gathering a rail for welding, one of them stuck to another. Without asking the other employee for help, the sheet metal worker tried to separate the two rails. When the rails separated, one struck her forearm, cutting it. The employee was hospitalized and received stitches to close the laceration. Management had provided forearm guards and gloves for use to protect against such injuries, but apparently did not require their use. (After the accident, management instituted a rule requiring use of forearm guards and gloves during this operation.) The injured employee had been using neither.