Abstract: On Thursday, February 17, 1994, Employee #1, a load checker at Schmitzer Steel Products, Rancho Cordova, CA, was working at a steel recycling center. He lowered the tailgate of a pickup truck to check an engine block for a disallowed oil filter that was attached to it. Employee #1 was climbing on the tailgate when he slipped off and landed across the tongue of the towed trailer. The engine block had been standing on end, and when Employee #1 slipped he tipped it over and it rolled off the tailgate. The engine block landed on his back, and then struck him in the back of the head. The blow pushed his face into the hard ground. Employee #1 sustained a broken jaw and several broken teeth. He was given first aid and then transported by ambulance to UC Medical Center in Sacramento, CA. The hard hat he had been wearing stayed on his head and probably saved his life.