Abstract: Employee #1 was performing routine fueling and limited maintenance on a Caterpillar 988B front-end loader that he had used since it was newly purchased a year before. He opened the right service door to change a water filter. According to the employer, the loader had four similar service doors that gave access to both sides of the upper engine compartment and which had a handle that had to be twisted and pulled down. The doors could be removed from their pin-type hinges by sliding them to the front. Employee #1 twisted the handle while standing on the built-in service platform on the back of the loader. The downward and backward momentum of opening the door pulled him off balance and he fell backward 4 1/2 ft off the loader to the ground. Employee #1 was discovered about 5 minutes later, administered first aid, and rushed to the hospital in Marysville, CA.