Unsafe Tools & Equipment

Railroad workers are required to use a variety of tools and equipment, ranging from backhoes and jackhammers, to radios and wrenches.  These tools are provided to them by the railroad.  Over the years, improvements have been made to many of the tools railroaders use to perform their jobs.  Unfortunately, railroads frequently will not provide the newer, safer, but more expensive tools to their workers.

How can a railroader be injured by unsafe tools?

Unsafe tools and equipment can cause any number of injuries depending on the tool or equipment involved.  Below are some of the ways in which unsafe tools and equipment can cause injury to railroad workers.

• Tool malfunction – Injuries from tool malfunctions often take the form of single, traumatic incidents.  Tool malfunctions can cause a variety of injuries, from shoulder injuries (malfunctioning air wrench), to crush injuries (malfunctioning tamping machine), to more serious injuries or death (malfunctioning radio), just to name a few.  Tools and equipment on locomotives and railcars can also malfunction, causing injuries.  When this happens, those injured workers are usually protected by the Locomotive Inspection Act or the Safety Appliance Act.  Tool malfunctions are commonly the result of the railroad refusing to pay for updated and safer equipment, or the railroad not properly inspecting, maintaining, and repairing the equipment it has.
• Cumulative trauma – Cumulative trauma describes injuries which result from exposure to an unsafe condition over the course of a railroader’s career.  These injuries can result from things like excessive vibration, “kickback” injuries (in the case of power tools), and repetitive motion injuries.  Railroad workers can work 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, for 40 years, all the while exposed to these unsafe conditions.  Frequently, these injuries could have been prevented if the railroads had properly inspected, maintained, and repaired the tools they required their workers to use.
• Inadequate training – When a railroader is injured using a tool, the railroad will usually try to blame the worker for his/her injury.  However, when a worker is injured on a specific tool or piece of equipment, it is frequently because he/she is not properly trained on how to use the equipment.  Railroads will assign their workers to use differing models of tools, or equipment for which they have received no training.  It is the railroad’s duty to see that its employees are properly trained before they are assigned to use tools or equipment on the railroad.
• Inadequate manpower – Many tool/equipment injuries are the result of the railroad supplying inadequate manpower to complete a job.  Because railroads do not want to pay for additional workers, the workers they do have are often asked to do too much in too short a period of time.  As a result, railroad workers are hurried and injuries can result.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of how unsafe tools and equipment can cause injury, but is meant to exemplify how serious injuries or death can result from the railroad’s use of unsafe tools and equipment.

What should I do if I have been injured by unsafe tools or equipment?

If you or a loved one has been injured by unsafe tools or equipment, contact Brian Reddy and Ryan Gembala at 1-866-725-5291 immediately for a no cost, no pressure legal consultation.  You should seek advice and counsel from experienced railroad attorneys.  The lawyers at Reddy Baran & Kral collectively have over 30 years experience representing injured railroad workers in lawsuits against the railroad.  Brian Reddy and Ryan Gembala have extensive experience handling various claims of single incident injuries as well as cumulate trauma injuries.

As soon as the railroad learns of your injury, it will have claim agents from its risk management department begin protecting the railroad’s interest and limiting any compensation to which you may be entitled.  It is important that you get tough lawyers on your side to protect your interests and those of your family.  Call Brian Reddy or Ryan Gembala today at 1-866-725-5291.