Pedestrian struck by rail vehicle-transportation incident · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Union Tank Car Co., 939 Holland Rd., MARION, OHIO 43302
on — Fractures, affecting the pelvis.
Final narrative
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.
An employee was working on a railroad car coupling. A piece of metal fell out of the coupling and smashed the employee's finger, causing a fracture and a contusion. The employee was hospitalized.
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.
An employee was coupling railcars near the melt shop. The employee's right foot was crushed between railcar couplers and toes were amputated by the steel toe of their boot. The employee was hospitalized and their leg was medically amputated from the knee down.
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 working to deliver mail to an apartment building. She was waiting for a customer to move, to obtain clearance to the mailboxes. The door swung inward and closed on her right little finger. The top half of her finger was surgically amputated.
An employee fell from a step ladder while reaching for a tie-off point. He impacted the ground, and landed on his bolt bag which contained tools. The employee was hospitalized with fractured ribs, and a lacerated spleen and kidney.
On October 30, 2025, an employee was working to adjust a stackable metal shipping container. As the container dropped into place, it caught the employee's hands in an area between the upper and lower cross-members. The employee suffered a laceration to the left ring finger that required stitches, bruising to the right ring finger, and fractures to the right middle finger that necessitated medical amputation of the fingertip.
An employee was moving a scissor lift through a doorway. The employee was pinned between the scissor lift and the doorframe, sustained a back injury, and was hospitalized.
An employee was setting up communication equipment for a meeting. They were walking and tripped over a speaker on the ground. The employee sustained a leg injury.