Abstract: Employee #1 and a coworker, who worked for the City's Division of Solid Waste, finished their collection route and headed toward the landfill. Employee #1 stayed in the cab while the coworker raised the tailgate and operated the extender to eject the trash. The coworker saw that some of the trash was stuck and tried to dislodge it with a stick. He then told Employee #1 to get out of the cab and to lower the tail gate until it was open approximately 15 in., while he operated the hopper blade. Employee #1 used controls on the left side of the truck near the cab to lower the tailgate and was reaching through the opening to grab the trash when the tailgate dropped. He sustained injuries to his fingers, for which he was hospitalized. The raised tailgate had not been blocked and Employee #1 was not using an extension tool to push at the trash.