Abstract: At 1:30 p.m. on December 6, 2002, an accident occurred in Compton, California. Employee #1 was a machine operator with 4 years of experience in the trade of carpentry. The employer is involved in the manufacture of plywood seats and backrests for chairs and food trays, using applied heat and radio frequency technologies. The machine or equipment involved in the incident was a hand-fed wood shaper, manufactured by Paoloni Machine Spa, Model Number T-1200, Serial Number 002-88. Employee #1 was assigned to work at the riveting machine and he worked there for about two hours. Then he was reassigned to operate the pin router, and he worked there for about 2 hours. At the time of the accident Employee #1 was assigned to shape plywood seats, Part Number 22060. A coworker was waiting for Employee #1 to finish shaping a part so that he could use the shaper to shape another part. While Employee #1 was shaping the plywood seat, his hand came in contact with the unguarded cutting head of the equipment. The injury sustained as a result of the accident was the partial amputation of his left index finger, and a fracture of the left index finger. After the accident, Employee #1 was transported to US Healthworks Medical Group in Rancho Dominguez, California, by a coworker. From US Healthworks, Employee #1 was referred to the Western Hand Center where he was treated for his injuries as an outpatient.