Abstract: At approximately 1:30 p.m. on July 31, 2009, Employee #1, a maintenance worker at a beet sugar processing plant, was replacing a spring located next to the tare taker's control station on the second level of an unloading conveyor. The tare taker is the location where samples are collected for analysis. The spring was located on the red line, at the tare taker bucket, which swings into the beets as they are being loaded into the plant via a conveyor system, and swings back to provide a sample for the operator. The spring was approximately 22 in. long with a 2 in. coil, and is connected to the top of the tare taker bucket at either end by a cotter pin. In order to reach the spring, the employee climbed into the bucket via a guardrail. When Employee #1 finished replacing the spring, he stepped back out of the bucket onto the guardrail, and lost his balance. He fell 17 ft to the ground, landing in the dirt at the bottom of the stairs. He sustained multiple fractures, including his back and pelvis. Employee #1 was hospitalized at UCSD trauma center after receiving initial care at Pioneer Medical Center.