Abstract: At approximately 10:30 a.m. on October 3, 1996, Employee #1, a laborer, was rigging materials to be hoisted using the boom of an excavator. He had attached a 48 in. diameter by 20 ft long pipe to the boom and was walking away from the excavator when he stepped on a stack of steel plates used to avoid stepping in mud. At the same time, the excavator operator, who was also the employer's superintendent, had raised the pipe approximately 1 ft off the ground. He swung the excavator boom around and struck the opposite end of the steel plates on which Employee #1 was standing, causing him to fall on his back. The superintendent continued to operate the excavator as though nothing had happened. Employee #1 hurt his back at the site of a previous injury and was taken to the University of Maryland Hospital, where he was treated and released. Subsequent investigation revealed that the employer did not implement or maintain a safety and health program at the job site that included inspections for compliance with the employer's work rules and with OSHA/MOSH standards and regulations.