Struck by falling object or equipment, n.e.c. · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at RailWorks Track Systems, 8485 210th Street West, LAKEVILLE, MINNESOTA 55044
on — Fractures, affecting the nonclassifiable.
Final narrative
A crew was lifting a bridge with bottle jacks so they could remove and replace floor-to-ceiling joists. Soil at one end gave way, causing a wall of lumber to collapse on the foreman who was observing them. The foreman suffered fractured vertebrae.
An employee was installing a railroad bumping post. As he loosened a nut on a bolt so the bolt could be re-seated, the bumping post collapsed and his right leg was pinned between two pieces of it. He suffered fractures to the tibia and fibula.
An employee was attempting to reinstall the connecting bar for a pressure-actuated rail greaser. He was picking up the bar from the middle joint when the joint unexpectedly straightened and injured his finger.
An employee was using a spike maul to set a steel spike in a wooden tie. The spike maul struck the steel joint bar and the impact broke a small piece of steel off the joint bar. The small piece of steel struck the employee in the right eye.
An employee was moving a piece of an I-beam for welding when it rolled off the cribbing. The employee went to catch it when it fell and crushed the employee's finger, resulting in a partial amputation.
An employee was helping to disassemble large reels used to store steel wire when a 264-pound flange from the reel fell over onto the employee's left leg. The employee sustained multiple fractures to their leg and ligament injuries to the lower leg.
The injured employee was putting away materials on the warehouse floor as a co-worker was pushing a pallet onto a nearby shelf. The pallet knocked another pallet forward, causing it to fall onto the injured employee's shoulders. The employee suffered fractures in their right and left knees and ankles.
Employees were moving a single man lift into a building and reclining the lift to position it to fit through the door. The lift shifted and fell, causing the employee to sustain fractures to the left tibia and fibula. The employee was hospitalized and had surgery.
An employee was moving a light tower so it could be hitched to a truck. He grabbed the tongue of the trailer hitch on the light tower to slide it to the left. The tongue jack fell off, causing the light tower tongue to drop on the employee's right hand. The employee's middle fingertip was amputated.
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 walking in a garage toward her delivery vehicle. As she stepped down a curb near her vehicle, she fell and landed on the concrete garage floor, resulting in a hip injury that required hospitalization.
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.
At about 9:15 a.m. on March 10, 2025, an employee was riding along a hardpack snow-covered roadway on a snowmobile. The snowmobile went over a berm and tipped/rolled, causing the employee to fall to the ground. He suffered a collapsed left lung and was hospitalized.
An employee was decommissioning a substation. The tower switch was being set down on the ground when the switch blade moved. The employee's finger was crushed and amputated.