Abstract: At 10:30 a.m. on September 21, 1998, Employee #1 was working on a book stitcher, an Acme-Morrison Model N3A-3/4-15759, where he was stitching twenty page booklets or newsletters. On that morning, Employee #1 had finished 500 of the booklets before the accident. At one point, when he put a booklet on the saddle, the stitching machine cycled or he accidentally pushed the foot pedals and the hammer hit Employee #1 on his left middle finger. A staple pierced into his finger which was removed at the hospital. At the time of the accident there was no guard on the point of operation. The accident resulted in the amputation of the finger and permanent disfigurement of Employee #1's hand.