Abstract: Employee #1 and a coworker were using a fork lift truck, serial #380627, with an attached wooden pallet as a personnel lift to place large boxes on a storage shelf. Employee #1 was standing on the unguarded pallet and her coworker was operating the fork lift. While they were working, a telephone rang, and the coworker shut off the engine, set the brake, and went to answer it. The coworker did not, however, lower the load to the ground. Employee #1 finished placing the boxes on the shelf and then turned to face the mast of the fork lift. While waiting for the coworker to return, she placed both her hands on top of the truck frame to steady herself. The mast section suddenly dropped, and both of her hands were smashed between the mast and the frame. Employee #1 suffered a hairline fracture of the first finger of her left hand, crushing injuries to the first and ring fingers of her right hand, and amputation of the lower half of her right thumb. Neither Employee #1 nor her coworker had been trained in fork lift operations.