Abstract: At approximately 8:30 a.m. on September 21, 2007, Employee #1, a finish carpentry contractor, was working alone inside the garage of a residence in Palm Desert, CA, replacing some interior doors while the owners were away. He was using a Skilsaw HD77M worm-drive circular saw, serial #58728-HG452622, to rip a portion of a 19 in. long 1-by-3 piece of redwood stock. Employee #1 was holding the saw in his right hand and the board in his left hand when the blade became jammed in the cut and kicked-back, traveling over his hand and amputating his left thumb. Employee #1 managed to wrap his injured thumb and use his cell phone to call 911. Emergency Services transported him to Eisenhower Medical Center, where he underwent surgery and was then released the following day. It was routine for employees of the company to work alone and unsupervised.