Abstract: At approximately 9:00 a.m. on May 23, 2001, an employee, of a lawn maintenance company, was operating an Exmark Lazer Z riding lawn mower at an apartment complex. The employee had been operating the mower for one week and had received no training in the proper operation or hazards associated with the machine. The ground behind one of the buildings sloped towards a lake, and the slope reached 29 degrees where the accident occurred. It had been raining all morning. The mower and the employee slid off the embankment, and landed in the lake. The employee was pinned under the mower, and he drowned.