Abstract: On December 27, 2008, a "chicken-house tender" employed by Four W Farms LLC., tried to restart a feed auger motor that overheated and stopped working. Inconsistent feed formulation caused excessive resistance on the 0.5 HP motor. The worker followed informal procedures by turning off the power at the electrical panel, rotating the auger pulley until free, and then reenergizing the motor. The motor did not start at first, but when it did, the V-belt unexpectedly grabbed the worker's hand and pulled it into the unguarded in-running nip point, between the pulley and the V-belt. This resulted in the amputation of the third digit on the worker's right hand. Since the auger drive pulley was 6 ft 11 in. above the floor, it did not require guarding. However, the employer did not implement proper lockout procedures for this machine. The unsafe practice of restarting the motor had been shared among workers.