Abstract: At approximately 10:30 a.m. on December 12, 1996, Employee #1 was unloading a sandblaster from the bed of his Ford Ranger truck at a job site in Sacramento, CA. He parked his truck in the parking area and a coworker positioned his forklift truck behind it. The coworker then raised the extra long forks approximately 24 in. above the ground to meet the tail gate of the truck. A pallet had been placed on the end of the forks, and Employee #1 moved the sandblaster by stepping onto the pallet and rolling the machine sandblaster onto it. He had just stepped back onto the fork, between the pallet and the mast, when his foot slipped off the fork. This caused the sandblaster to shift position, pinching Employee #1's left index finger between the sandblaster hopper and the fork. He suffered the near amputation of his fingertip and was administered first aid at the job site before a coworker transported him to a local hospital. The fingertip was reattached and Employee #1 was released at approximately 6:30 p.m. that same day.