Abstract: At 3:40 p.m. on May 14, 2003, Employee #1, a blacksmith employed by Forged Metals in Fontana, California, was struck by a follower pin during a metal forging process. Forged Metals produces and fabricates specialty parts for aircraft engines and the aerospace industry. Employee #1 was working at the H1-12, an 18-ton drop hammer, using tongs to place a follower pin, a piece of steel round stock, 5 inches wide and 4 inches tall with a .5-inch taper in about half way up, on a bit used to punch a hole through a part being forged. The forge hammer drops on the follower pin and it pushes the bit out of the rough forging. When the hammer dropped and struck the follower pin, the pin shot out off the bit and struck Employee #1's gloved right hand, causing a compound fracture to the right hand. Employee #1 was hospitalized.