Abstract: At approximately 7:20 a.m. on March 17, 2004, Employee #1, a temporary employee of Checkmate Staffing Inc., was assigned to Burrtec Waste Industries (the secondary employer) as a sorter. The secondary employer separated waste from recycling material and provided direction and control of Employee #1's daily work duties. At the time of the incident, Employee #1 and three coworkers were assigned to enter a combo machine to clean it and reset the machine in motion. The machine separates plastic containers from their paper tags. A fourth coworker, the equipment operator, locked out the combo machine during the maintenance operation and was responsible for ensuring that all the employees exited the machine safely prior to restarting it. The equipment operator saw three employees come out of the machine and proceeded to unlock the machine and walk towards the control panel used to operate the machine, which was located 60 ft away. He assumed that by the time he unlocked the machine and arrived at the control panel, Employee #1 would have exited the machine. As he was walking to the control panel, another employee prematurely restarted the combo machine, unaware that Employee #1 was still in the machine. The equipment operator yelled to the employee at the control panel to shut off the machine. Employee #1 was removed from a conveyor and laid on a bench. Employee #1 was taken to the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, CA, via ambulance. Employee #1 suffered a fractured lower back and remained hospitalized for two days.