Abstract: At approximately 11:00 p.m. on July 22, 2002, an employee was working at Superior Industries International, located in Van Nuys, CA. Superior Industries International is an original equipment wheel manufacturer (OEM) making cast aluminum wheels for the automotive industry. Superior Industries International takes aluminum ingots and melts them into a liquid state. It then pours the molten metal into a casting machine that contains a wheel mold. As the metal cools to around 200 to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, the machine is opened and the new wheel is ejected from the machine. The wheel is then machined to final shape and sent to the company that ordered it. At the time of the accident, the employee was adjusting a die on machine number 13. This required the employee to lockout the machine while adjusting the height of a threaded flange (top core) in the center of the die. Superior Industries International has a written procedure and training for adjusting the flange for its employees. The employee was adjusting the flange when the machine moved, causing the die to move upward and the ejection pin downward. The employee's right hand was caught between the gap of the die and the machine which smashed the right middle finger. The employee did not remember if the machine was properly turned off. Attempts by the employer to have the machine automatically function with the switch in the "off" position failed to repeat the incident. The distance from the control panel and the center of the machine was 42 inches and placed in such a position that an employee could not activate the switches that operate the machine without both hands being on the switches. The accident caused the employee to lose his right middle finger. The employee's injury was treated at UCLA Medical in Westwood. He was not hospitalized.