How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 28 severe cases involving rail vehicles over the last decade. Amputations are the primary outcome, accounting for 58 percent of all reported injuries, which often result in permanent disability and long-term medical needs.
These incidents frequently target the lower legs, causing life-altering crush injuries. The sheer force involved in rail operations means that even minor procedural errors often lead to catastrophic physical trauma.
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Free Benefits ReviewCommon injuries
Rail vehicle injuries typically occur during switching, coupling, or staging operations. You are most often injured when you are caught between railcars, struck by moving equipment, or fall into the path of a train. These incidents frequently involve heavy rail vehicles that lack adequate proximity warnings or fail to follow strict stop-and-lockout procedures during maintenance.
| Injury Type | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amputations, avulsions, enucleations | 15 |
| 2 | Fractures | 7 |
| 3 | Multiple severe wounds and internal injuries | 1 |
| 4 | Sprains, strains, tears | 1 |
| 5 | Traumatic injuries or exposures— unspecified | 1 |
| 6 | Injuries to internal organs and major blood vessels | 1 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing accounts for 43 percent of these severe incidents, largely due to the integration of rail spurs within production facilities. Transportation and warehousing follow closely, where the high-pressure environment of loading and staging railcars often leads to you being caught in pinch points or struck by moving cars during coupling maneuvers.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these reports include you being struck while performing manual coupling, tripping on rail ties, or getting limbs crushed between railcar knuckles. These incidents often stem from communication failures during movement or the lack of clear separation between personnel and active rail lines. If any of these scenarios sound like what happened to you, an attorney can help you review the specifics of your incident.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | MS | Construction | "An employee was working the switchboard for a train to move through the plant. He gave the all clear signal, and the train began reversing on the tracks. The employee went to get onto the train as it was moving toward him when he missed the railing and fell underneath the train. The last railcar ran over both of his legs, amputating the legs above the knees." | |
| 2025 | IL | Manufacturing | "On April 27, 2025, employees were performing a railcar switch. When the train began to shift back, the injured employee's right arm got crushed between the knuckles of two railcars. The employee was hospitalized with fractures to their forearm." | |
| 2025 | OK | Other Services | "An employee was working to couple two railcars together, holding the lever with one hand and the coupler with the other hand. The locomotive then backed up and his left arm got caught in the coupler, resulting in a broken arm and a broken little finger." | |
| 2025 | IL | Manufacturing | "An employee was uncoupling railcars while the cars were in motion and a car ran over her left lower leg, resulting in crush injuries and amputation below the knee. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2024 | IL | Transportation & Warehousing | "On October 5, 2024, a crew was staging the last string of railcars to be loaded when the injured employee stepped forward and tripped on a railroad tie, causing his right foot to be on the rail. A staged railcar rolled forward and caught his foot between the wheel and the rail. The employee was hospitalized for amputations to toes." | |
| 2024 | LA | Manufacturing | "An employee in the rail yard was struck by the corner of a slow-moving railcar and lost their balance. The employee grabbed onto the side of the railcar to regain their balance and sustained an avulsion injury to the left thigh and a broken right ankle." | |
| 2023 | AR | Manufacturing | "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." | |
| 2022 | NJ | Manufacturing | "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." | |
| 2022 | OH | Manufacturing | "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." | |
| 2022 | TX | Transportation & Warehousing | "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." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.