Abstract: On March 26, 1990, Employee #1 and a coworker were attempting to strip a small concrete form from the edge of an interior floor about 8 to 9 ft above them. The form was 3/4 in. plywood, 11 in. wide by 11 ft 2 in. long, and was backed with 2 by 4 wood spaced 8 in. apart. They were having difficulty in breaking the form loose. Employee #1 was up three or four steps on a ladder at the west end of the form, using a bar and pulling on the form. His coworker had gone to the floor above to see what was holding the form. Employee #1 reported that his coworker hit the form with a hammer and it fell. The coworker reported that he did not hit the form; it just suddenly broke loose. There were no other witnesses. As the form fell, a nail protruding from the form pierced the back of Employee #1's left hand near the wrist, at approximately the intersection of his thumb and index finger. He was either knocked off the ladder with the nail in his hand, or dragged off by the form, and fell to a prone position on the floor. Employee #1's hand suffered a T-shaped tear that extended from both sides of the nail penetration.