Contact with hot objects or substances · Heat (thermal) burns, unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Wabtec U.S. Rail, Inc., 2901 East Lake Road, ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA 16531
on — Heat (thermal) burns, unspecified, affecting the multiple body parts, n.e.c..
Final narrative
A hose ruptured during a test of a cooling loop system and released hot water on an employee, resulting in burns on his abdomen and legs that required hospitalization.
An employee used a bridge crane to place a 12-foot long piece of bar stock onto a portable roller stand and a fixed roller table. The employee then disconnected the bar stock from the crane and began moving it along the rollers. The portable roller stand was not perpendicular to the bar stock, causing the bar stock to roll off the side. The employee put their hand out to direct the bar stock away from himself as it fell to the floor. His right middle fingertip was pinched and amputated between the bar stock and the fixed roller table.
An employee was working with a crane operator to load an auxiliary cab onto a platform. The employee used a pipe to ensure proper spacing between the cab and the other equipment previously installed on the platform. When the cab was lowered, the employee's right middle finger was pinched between the cab and the platform. The employee suffered an amputation to the finger.
An employee was using sand paper to manually finish a part on a lathe. The employee's glove got caught on the spinning lathe and pulled his arm into the lathe. The employee was hospitalized for an injury to his right hand and lower forearm.
An employee connected a steam line to a hose to clean equipment when the fitting broke loose. They were struck by steam in the left inner thigh, resulting in burns that required hospitalization.
An employee was making tea when she noticed tea grinds were collecting on the side and water was no longer dripping through the funnel. The employee was checking the funnel when boiling water and tea grinds spilled onto the left side of her body. The employee sustained burns to her neck, back, and arm.
An employee had turned off the ball valve on a waterpipe system and was removing the plug when the coupling system attached to the strainer came apart. Hot water sprayed on his arm and back, resulting in first- and second-degree burns that required surgery.
An employee was using a shovel to remove waste vermiculite from molten zinc. The metal had been placed in a bin and partially hardened. The employee broke through the partially hardened metal; still-molten metal flowed to the employee's steel-toed right boot and entered through the cloth boot tongue. The employee suffered a third-degree burn to the right foot and was hospitalized.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 336510)
An employee was responding to a service request for a cable stripping machine that was making noise and not functioning consistently. While testing its function, the machine contacted the employee s right index fingertip, resulting in a fingertip amputation to the tuft.
An employee was using a handheld cordless electric torque wrench. The tool's reaction arm came into contact with the employee's left hand, causing an amputation to the middle finger above the first knuckle.
On August 6, 2025, an employee was preparing to weld a metal sheet that goes between containers and weighs 800 pounds. The employee was placing a two-foot wooden brace (4 by 4) under the metal, which was being raised by a crane operator using a magnet. The magnet shifted and caused the load to catch the employee's right index fingertip against the wooden brace, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
An employee was climbing up a ladder to the top of a railcar. The employee slipped and fell from the ladder, striking the coupler of the railcar during the fall. This caused the employee's body to shift, and they landed on their head/nose/face. The employee suffered broken ribs, a broken cheekbone, a broken nose, and internal bleeding.
An employee was walking into the motor control center (MCC) room when his right ring finger was caught in the hinge of a doorway. He sustained an open phalanx fracture, which resulted in a partial amputation above the first knuckle.
An employee was changing the spacing on a telehandler's forks. A fork slipped, and the employee's left index finger was caught between it and the mast. The fingertip was medically amputated at the first knuckle.
An employee was pulling down a broken skid with a forklift. When the employee backed up the forklift to get the forks out of the skid he pulled down, he contacted the forks of another parked forklift, fracturing both of his legs. He was hospitalized.
An employee was carrying cups back to the kitchen when her foot got caught on a cart and she fell face-first. During the fall, a piece of glass from a cup cut the inside of her mouth, severing an artery. She also sustained a laceration on her lower lip. The employee was hospitalized.