Abstract: At approximately 1:34 p.m. on September 30, 2008, Employee #1, a tire technician, was installing a new tire on a backhoe wheel. The employer is a medium size business engaged in sales and installation of truck and auto tires. Employee #1 had been employed for eighteen months and performed duties of a Tire Technician, which included the repair of flat tires; installation of new tires and wheels. The backhoe wheel, which was brought in by a customer, measured 16.5 inches in diameter and the tire Employee #1 was installing on the wheel measured 16 inches in diameter. Employee #1 first placed the wheel on a Hunter TCX550 tire changing machine, Model Number TCX550BPSE, Serial Number 1BE002712. Then he placed the tire over the wheel and attempted to inflate the tire using the tire machine's air hose, but the hose did not provide enough pressure. Employee #1 then used a direct-line air hose from a compressor tank to inflate the tire. However, no in-line regulator or hand valve and gauge were present. He could not accurately judge the amount of pressure being supplied to the tire. The tire/wheel assembly exploded, striking Employee #1 was struck on right elbow and knocking him to the floor, unconscious. Employee #1 was taken to Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, where he was hospitalized and treated for a fractured and lacerated right elbow. The accident investigation revealed that Employee #1 had not inflated the tire with a clip-on chuck with hand valve and gauge, and had attempted to inflate a tire and wheel combination of conflicting sizes.