Abstract: At approximately 10:00 a.m. on March 30, 1999, Employee #1 was working at a cardboard baler in a grocery store. A bale of compressed boxes had been tied up with wire and was being removed from the baler machine by Employee #1 onto a pre-placed pallet. The bale failed to drop freely from the baler so Employee #1 stepped onto the pallet, grabbed the bale with both hands and pulled the bale towards her in an attempt to shift the bale onto the pallet. As the bale began to move, Employee #1 lost control of it and began to back away. As Employee #1 backed away, the bale hit her in the chest area, and then her foot became wedged between the pallet slats. The bale continued to fall forward onto Employee #1 fracturing her right ankle. Employee #1 yelled and was assisted by another employee. Employee #1 was hospitalized with a fractured ankle.