Abstract: At approximately 12:15 p.m. on October 3, 1993, at the U.S. Postal Facility in Charlottesville, VA, Employee #1 was directed to repair a broken spring underneath a dock leveling dock board. Employee #1 was a maintenance employee who usually repaired electronic equipment for a mail processing operation. He was not trained to make this repair. He did not have a lockout procedure to ensure that the dock plate was positively secured when he climbed beneath the dock leveler. As Employee #1 relieved the remaining spring tension from the springs that were unbroken, the weight was no longer counterbalanced. The dock board had been improperly braced with a 4 in. by 4 in. piece of wood. The weight of the dock board shifted downward and kicked out the brace. The dock board fell on the Employee #1, suffocating and crushing him. Employee #1 died of brain death resulting from anoxia on October 7, 1993, in a local medical center.