Pedestrian struck by rail vehicle-transportation incident · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Metro East Industries, Inc., 3800 Missouri Ave, ALORTON, ILLINOIS 62207
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was attempting to align railcar couplers when his left thumb was caught and partially amputated (60 percent) between the couplers.
An employee was removing a power assembly from a locomotive engine using an overhead crane. The power assembly became stuck, and two 1-inch lifting bolts failed as the crane continued to apply lifting pressure. This cause the power assembly to come back down and crush the employee's right hand against the engine housing. He suffered two broken bones in the hand, as well as tissue and ligament damage, and was hospitalized.
An employee was installing decking on the B-deck of an autorack rail car. The employee fell to the walking/working surface below, suffered fractures, and was hospitalized.
An employee was removing wooden 2-by-4 deck boards from a bulkhead flat railcar. He was using an overhead crane and lifting device to pull the boards up from the securement bolts. He was near the end of the railcar, removing the final groups of boards. The overhead crane's steel lifting device caught a 1/2-inch steel body bolster plate under the wood; as the crane began to lift, the lifting device slipped off the plate and flew into the air. It struck the employee in the face and right arm, causing non-displaced facial fractures and lacerations to the lip and gum line and a bruised right upper arm.
On 6/27/2018, an employee was attempting to remove a bolt from the control arm of a disassembled train locomotive wheel assembly. After he removed the nut, the arm shifted due to its weight and came down on his right middle finger, resulting in an amputation to the first knuckle.
An employee was climbing down the end ladder of a railroad hopper car when he lost his footing and fell approximately 7 feet to the ground, sustaining bi-lateral heel fractures.
On December 4, 2023, an employee was helping to move a hopper car. He was climbing the stairs to go to the other side of the hopper car when he slipped. His right foot went under the hopper car's wheel and a toe was amputated.
An employee was working between railcars on an active railroad track to connect the airbrake. Another employee moved the railcars, striking and running over the employee resulting in amputation of both legs.
On March 25, 2022, an employee had just detached a string of empty rail cars away from some loaded cars. The string of detached cars was being taken ahead, and the employee began pulling the knuckle of a rail car into the open position. The string of detached cars then momentarily came back, and the employee was pinched between two cars. The employee suffered a broken right hip and was hospitalized.
At about 8:40 p.m., two employees (a groundsman and a switchman) were working in a rail yard, setting rail cars to be released from the site. The groundsman was watching the switchman connect an end-of-train device on the string of rail cars. While he was on the adjacent track, a locomotive on that track moved forward and struck him, knocking him over, injuring his right foot, and amputating his left leg above the knee.
On June 25, 2020, an employee was acting as a groundman to assist the locomotive driver in staging cars in the blast building. As the railcar was moving past a beam that is part of the building, the employee became pinned between the beam and the railcar and sustained a fractured pelvis.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 488210)
An employee was using his left hand to push an axle down the line on a raised track work area while holding the remaining axle back with his right hand. A finger on his right hand was caught between the rail and the dust guard of the axle, resulting in a fracture and a laceration.
An employee was sampling a railcar in a storage yard. After sampling the railcar, the employee was climbing down the railcar ladder when he fell off the top step of the ladder to the ground, resulting in fractures to six ribs, his right arm, and two vertebrae.
Employees were watering a train at a train platform. One of them went to step over a hose, tripped, and fell to the ground. He suffered a broken knee. The employee was hospitalized for surgery.
Employees were performing maintenance operations on a railroad line when the machine experienced a load conveyor motor failure. While clearing the machine to allow for repairs, an employee pinned the left side of the swing conveyor. The operator on the right side then requested a slight bump to the left to align the right side for pinning. Once the swing was in position, the operator went to pin the right side and the chain tensioner failed, resulting in an abrupt release of the swing chain. The chain snapped back and struck the operator s right hand, resulting in a 1-inch laceration and a fractured fifth metacarpal. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery on the hand.
The injured employee loaded a container onto a railcar and then mounted the railcar to put in the locking mechanism for the container. The employee was struck by another container that a crane was loading onto the railcar and fell approximately four feet from the railcar to the concrete ground. The employee sustained fractures to their pelvis, shoulder, and two ribs.
An employee was changing a die in a press when the die slipped and crushed the employee's left index finger. The employee sustained an open facture of the tuft of the left distal phalanx and a partial amputation.
An employee was driving a boom lift (in the lowered position) in an exterior dock area. The lift s left wheels rolled onto base plates that covered a 3-foot-deep sump pit. The base plates failed, and one side of the lift dropped. The employee's left leg was caught under the lift basket, and he suffered a fracture to the lower leg including the ankle.