Abstract: At approximately 11:00 a.m. on May 13, 2004, Employee #1, a clothes presser, was using the Ajax Hot Head Press laundry ironing machine to press heavy canvas military uniforms for the Marine and Navy personnel. The Ajax Hot Head Press has a moveable head piece that descends and ascends in a vertical direction to press clothing placed on a stationary ironing board, located directly below the head. The head device moves up and down through the use of pneumatic air pressure and the head is heated by steam. The air compressor and broiler are stored in a separate back room. The opening and closing of the press is normally controlled by a two-button controller, red to descend and green to ascend, which is operated by the clothes presser. Employee #1 placed an item of clothing on the ironing board and attempted to straighten it out on the board for pressing. She pushed down the two-red button controls to activate the head so that it would descend, but nothing happened. She then realized that the air pressure for the Ajax Hot Head Press was off, and went to the back room to turn it on. Employee #1 returned to the press and started to straighten out the clothing item of the ironing board a second time, when, without warning, the press descended, catching both of her hands between the hot head and the ironing board. She was able to remove her right hand, but could not get her left hand out of the closed hot head press. Her supervisor came over to assist her and tried pushing the green two-button controls twice, but was unsuccessful in getting the head to open and release Employee #1's left hand. The supervisor then grabbed a beveled clothes brush and pried open the hot head press, releasing Employee #1's left hand. Employee #1 was transported by ambulance to the UCSD Burn Center, where seven surgeries were performed on her left hand, including skin grafts. The tendons in her left hand were mostly destroyed by the accident, leaving her with very little use of her hand. Employee #1 spent two months in the hospital.