Abstract: At approximately 9:30 a.m. on February 22, 2013, Employee #1, a laborer, was operating a harvesting packing machine driving through a field harvesting brussel sprouts. The employee was seated on the operator's station receiving stalks of brussel sprouts as they were cut by the stalk cutting blade, and feeding the stalks into the stripper heads. Employee #1 was reaching for the stalks when his left foot slipped off the metal casing that was covering the blade. The employee lost his balance as the tractor continued to move forward, and his left leg went to the ground in front of the blade guard which opened as his leg passed through the guard and contacted the rotating blade. Employee #1 was transported to Palm Desert Regional Medical center, where he was treated for lacerations to his left foot, damaged tendons, and a fractured heel. Employee #1 was hospitalized for three days.