Abstract: At approximately 9:40 a.m. on March 9, 2009, Employee #1 was digging grape vineyard post holes using a gas powered auger. The employee was standing on a small berm of soil while operating the auger. When he lifted the auger to start his next hole, he lost his balance. As Employee #1 fell, the auger bit entangled his jacket sleeve causing several serious injuries to his right arm (dislocated elbow, radial-ulna open bone fracture, radial artery laceration). An accident investigation concluded that the auger did not have an automatic disengagement or shut-off trigger switch, and the employee should not have positioned himself on raised soft ground. The employer reported the incident to the state the following day.