Struck by other propelled object or substance n.e.c. · Open wounds involving internal organs, major blood vessels
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD, 7700 Kirkpatrick Blvd, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77028
on — Open wounds involving internal organs, major blood vessels , affecting the Thigh(s).
Final narrative
An employee was helping load train wheels onto a trailer. A forklift put a wheel on the trailer and pushed it. The wheel veered toward the employee. He jumped off the trailer and landed on his right side; the wheel then hit him on the left upper leg, severing his femoral artery.
An employee was welding next to railroad tracks. He removed the slag pan, stepped across the rail, and down the ballast section to dump slag from the slag pan. The slag slipped out of the pan and into a ditch with water adjacent to the tracks, resulting in an explosion. The employee suffered third degree burns, requiring hospitalization.
The injured employee was assisting in the disassembly phase after a radar array had been lowered and secured. The crew began removing load bearing pins from an overhead crane to free the radome. A load bearing pin was stuck. The injured employee went to remove the pin manually as a second team member applied pressure from the opposite side. The pin unexpectedly released and struck the injured employee s right thumb, resulting in partial amputation of the distal phalanx including an open distal phalanx fracture and nail bed laceration.
An employee was shoveling excess material (spillage) that consisted of dry mix, sand, aggregate and cement. As he was shoveling, some material blew back in his face and around his safety glasses. He got a piece of metal in his left eye that required surgery. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was feeding boards into an edger. They fed a board in and then adjusted the blade for a second board that was wider. When they fed the second board into the edger, it hit the first board and kicked back, striking the employee in the chest. They sustained injuries including a spine fracture, an injured pancreas, as well as potential injuries to their spleen, liver, and intestine. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was helping an operator to pull a cable off a winch. The operator pulled in the line when it hooked some tree brush. The brush then whipped around and struck the employee's arm, resulting in a broken arm.
A co-worker was adjusting an overhead bracket with an impact wrench when the tool flew out of their hand and struck the injured employee in the face. The injured employee sustained an injury to their left eye.
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.
After cutting a slab of beef short ribs, an employee turned to grab the pieces he had cut and his right hand contacted the saw blade. The employee sustained an amputation to his right index finger.
An employee was unloading a carpet pad from a truck when they fell from the truck dock to the concrete below, resulting in five fractured ribs and an injury to their left lung.
An employee was walking up a walkway to enter a building through the back entrance when she tripped over the lip of the cement ramp. The employee fell and sustained a fractured right hip.