Abstract: At about 8:00 a.m. on June 7, 1985, Employee #1 was working in the shop yard, in front of the blacksmith shop truck storage building, removing the blades of a Woods rotary mower Model C80, Serial Number 0035544 to sharpen them. Equipment operators are expected to sharpen the blades on their mower, with blades sharpened on an average of every 2 days. The mower was hooked to the John Deere tractor that was not running and was parked parallel to the building, with tractor toward the office building. The Wood mower is an older mower and is not used often. The blades can be taken off from the top of the mower but the bolts had rusted and Employee #1 felt he could get better leverage under the mower. The mower, which weighs approximately 1,000 pounds, was lifted and supported by a wooden stake measuring 1.5 inches by 1.75 inches and 35.5 inches long. The end of the stake that was on the pavement was cut at an angle on two sides, making a point. The stake had been placed in the center of the mower, toward the tractor. Employee #1 was working under the lift side of the mower and was sitting with his legs extended in front of him. He had taken off one blade and was working on the second blade when the stake kicked out and the mower dropped to about 18 inches above the pavement. The deck of the mower struck the back of his neck and he was doubled forward, tearing ligaments and muscles in his back and pinching a nerve in his neck. Employee #1 was employed at the Frederick shop since August of 1984 as an Equipment Operator II and prior to that had worked with the State Highway Administration out of the Westminister shop for approximately 8 years, 5 years as a Laborer and 3 years as an Equipment Operator I.