Abstract: At approximately 9:45 a.m. on August 2, 1997, Employee #1 was using a hydraulic wood splitter with a deadman central wedge to split 16 ft pine rounds into firewood. He was holding an irregular round that would not sit on the splitter frame, placing his left hand on the end of the round as he reached across the machine to the control lever. As Employee #1 slowly moved the hydraulic ram and round into the splitting wedge, his gloved hand became caught and the little finger on his left hand was amputated. First aid was administered by coworkers and continued by local fire department paramedics. Employee #1 was transported by ambulance to Washoe Medical Center in Reno, NV, where his finger was reattached.