Abstract: At 4:30 a.m. on August 26, 2004, Employee #1, a supervisor, was on his way back to his office when he passed by one of the production rooms where he noticed there was a lot of steam. Employee #1 has been working for the company as a regular employee for 25 years. The employer is a yogurt manufacturer, specializing in fruit flavored dairy products. Knowing fully well that the sanitation period was over and that there should not be any steam on the floor, he walked through a narrow space bordered by a wall and a row of machines, which were now in active production, to turn off the valve that controlled the opened hot water hose. The valve that controlled the water line was a ball valve with a green colored one-inch wide flat handle, manufactured by a company called Inline Industries, Model 101R. It was an in-line valve that opened at the twelve o'clock position and closed at the three o'clock position. The ball valve was designed to travel only a distance of 90 degrees, from 12 o'clock to three. A raised humped forged on the body of the valve assured that the handle would not travel further than that specified distance. As Employee #1, however, pushed it down to the three o'clock position, the handle swung past the closed position to the six o'clock position, which brought the valve back to the full open position. With the valve open, hot water, which was later measured at 165 degrees Fahrenheit, raced through the flexible hose into the nozzle which was now whipping uncontrollably, spraying hot water in all directions. Employee #1 was sprayed with hot water, drenching his white overcoat and scalding his lower body, his hands and legs. Trapped between the wall and a row of pumps and buckets, Employee #1's only means of escape was by exiting through the whipping hose and the hot water. Employee #1 dashed into the water to avoid being scalded further, took off his clothes and doused himself in the emergency shower. Employee #1 was hospitalized with burns.