Abstract: At approximately 11:10 p.m. on March 19, 2011, Employee #1, a machine operator, was using a jaw meat puller to remove a jawbone. The puller was activated by a foot pedal. The jaw bone that was being removed from a bovine skull had a fracture in the center of the chin area. As the device was activated, the jaw twisted, due to the fracture, causing Employee #1 to reach for the twisting bone. The jaw meat puller was manufactured on site and would not normally present this type of problem. A fractured jaw bone is not a normally encountered condition, so Employee #1 was not prepared for the twisting action. His finger was caught by the action of the machine. He sustained a partial amputation to the tip of the middle finger on his right hand. He was not hospitalized for treatment. Machine guarding was not an option in this situation, so the employer changed the activation lever to a hand operated system. With this change, the top of the skull would be held, away from the point of operation.