Abstract: At approximately 3:45 p.m. on July 1, 1999, an employee at Monrovia Nursery in Azusa, California, received a serious occupational injury. Three employees were loading plants into a 28 ft standard truck with a rail lift gate. A coworker began to lower the lift gate, but the gate refused to open and it was determined that the right side chain was hung up causing the gate to stay closed. The coworker then manually pushed on the lift gate from behind. The short safety chain came loose, allowing the weight of the lift gate to force itself open. He jumped out of the way. Employee #1, fearing that the lift gate would strike another coworker, pushed against the gate and caught his right little finger in between the two main plates of the lift gate. This resulted in the amputation of the tip of the right little finger. Employee #1 was treated at the Irwindale Industrial Clinic. All three employees were experienced in the operation of this lift gate and there was no previous report of the lift gate malfunctioning. There were no accident related citations issued.