Abstract: Around 9:00 p.m. on November 16, 1998, Employee #1, a plate sprayer, had a tip of his left middle finger amputated when a 400-lb cast assembly dropped while he attempted to raise it manually from a horizontal to a vertical position. The facility was a medium size foundry engaged in the manufacturing of bronze, brass, and aluminum centrifugal castings. Employee #1 had been working there for ten years, as a mold picker, and was performing the duties of a plate sprayer on and off for one year. At the time of the accident, he had hoisted the cast to a neighboring machine, and was attempting to vertically raise the 400-lb assembly by hand, to grind off overflow metal and remove the end plate. Unable to hold it, he released the cast assembly, which dropped on his finger, crushing its tip. Employee #1 was transported to the US Healthworks Clinic for treatment, but was not hospitalized. Employee #1 had been trained in proper material handling of casts over 100 lbs.