Abstract: At 10:30 a.m. on May 18, 2001, a serious occupational injury occurred at Babb Tool and Machine, Inc., in Paramount, California. At the time of the accident, Employee #1 and a coworker were working on the Monarch Lathe Number 18. The lathe operator was turning a 4-inch diameter shaft at about 211 revolutions per minute. Because the shaft was quite long, it was supported in the middle by a spider which in tern was supported by the steady rest. The spider is able to rotate with the shaft while being supported by the stationary steady rest. Employee #1 said he walked to the back side of Lathe Number 18, preparing to clean up the chips, when he either slipped or tripped and his clothes got caught in the screws of the rotating spider. Employee #1 was struck by the spider screws as he was thrown over the top of the lathe. Employee #1 received head and back injuries as a result of landing on the machine shop floor after he was thrown over the lathe. Employee #1 also received puncture wounds to his right arm pit and elbow due to the projecting screws of the spider. Employee #1 was transported to the Saint Francis Trauma Center were he spent four days due to head and back injuries and lacerations to his right arm pit and elbow.