Abstract: On July 8, 2011, Employee #1, a machine operator at a meat processing facility, was standing on a platform using a rake to feed meat into the hopper of a meat grinding machine. As the meat dropped from the mouth of the hopper, it would be conveyed down into an auger and pushed out horizontally through a cutting knife and then through an orifice plate. As meat would exit the orifice plates, it would be cut by a rotating cutting knife. A sheet metal guard that was designed to protect workers from the knife was missing. A coworker directed Employee #1 to level off the meat in the bin because it had piled up over the top. After the coworker cut off the power to the machine, Employee #1 began leveling the meat with his hands. At the same time, he wiped meat off the orifice plate with his hands. His right ring finger contacted the cutting knife, which was still rotating. Employee #1 was hospitalized for an amputation of the finger.