Common injuries affecting machinists, electricians, and shop crafts
The physical, mechanical, and electrical demands of shop work can lead to injuries such as:
- Back and neck injuries
- Shoulder and knee injuries
- Crush and caught-between injuries
- Hand and finger injuries
- Fractures
- Amputations
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) specifically recognizes machinists, electrical workers, sheet metal workers, blacksmiths, boilermakers, helpers, and other maintenance-of-equipment employees within railroad job classifications.
How these injuries can happen
For machinists, electricians, and shop crafts, injuries often involve heavy equipment, energized systems, machinery, tools, and repetitive mechanical work.
Common scenarios may include:
- Unexpected locomotive or equipment movement
- Workers caught between machinery or components
- Electrical shock or arc flash
- Failure to de-energize equipment
- Defective tools or machinery
- Unsafe lifting or material handling
- Hydraulic or pneumatic system failures
- Falls from locomotives, platforms, or ladders
- Burns from hot components or welding
- Struck-by incidents
- Repetitive lifting, bending, or tool use
- Exposure to fumes, solvents, dust, or chemicals
Safety bulletin
Injured while working as a machinist, electrician, or shop craft employee? Do this now.
1
Get medical care
Seek appropriate medical attention and clearly explain how the injury occurred, including the locomotive, machine, electrical system, tool, or work condition involved.
2
Document the equipment and work area
Record the locomotive or equipment number, shop location, machinery, tools, electrical systems, and the task being performed at the time of the injury.
3
Preserve details about the condition
Write down whether the injury involved defective equipment, electrical power, unexpected movement, a failed component, inadequate guarding, or another unsafe condition while the details are still fresh.
4
Identify witnesses
Record the names of coworkers, supervisors, inspectors, or other shop employees who witnessed the incident or knew about the condition involved.
5
Be accurate when reporting the injury
Describe the equipment, work process, and conditions that contributed to the injury. Avoid guessing about facts you do not know.
6
Talk to a FELA attorney before signing important documents
Statements, releases, authorizations, settlement documents, or other paperwork may affect your rights after a serious railroad injury.
Injuries that develop over time
Not every machinist, electrician, or shop craft injury results from a single accident.
Years of lifting parts, using power tools, working in awkward positions, climbing equipment, kneeling, bending, and performing repetitive mechanical work can contribute to chronic back, neck, shoulder, knee, hand, and other musculoskeletal conditions.
Long-term exposure to shop noise, welding fumes, diesel exhaust, solvents, dust, vibration, and other workplace substances may also contribute to hearing loss or occupational illness.
When symptoms develop gradually, documenting your work history can be important. Record the duties you performed, the tools and machinery used, the substances encountered, the physical demands of the work, the years of exposure, and when symptoms first appeared.
How FELA may apply
The Federal Employers’ Liability Act, or FELA, allows covered railroad employees to pursue damages when railroad negligence contributes in whole or in part to an injury.
For machinists, electricians, and shop crafts, an investigation may examine issues such as:
- Locomotive and equipment condition
- Electrical safety procedures
- Lockout or de-energizing practices
- Machine guarding
- Tools and lifting equipment
- Inspection and maintenance procedures
- Staffing
- Training and qualification
- Shop walking surfaces
- Ventilation
- Protective equipment
- Prior complaints or repair history
The FRA regulates safety standards for locomotives, freight cars, brake systems, and other railroad equipment, and it also requires training programs for many safety-related railroad employees.
What a machinist, electrician, or shop craft FELA case may be worth
There is no standard value for a machinist, electrician, or shop craft injury claim.
The value of a FELA case can depend on the severity of the injury, medical treatment, whether the worker can return to railroad service, lost earnings, future restrictions, long-term medical needs, and the evidence showing how railroad negligence contributed to the injury.
Evidence that may matter
Important evidence can include:
- Locomotive and equipment inspection records: These may show defects, prior repairs, failed components, or recurring mechanical problems.
- Electrical and power records: These can help establish whether equipment was energized, de-energized, grounded, or handled in accordance with required procedures.
- Tool and machinery records: Inspection and maintenance records may help show whether defective shop equipment contributed to the injury.
- Photos and video: Images can preserve machinery, electrical components, guarding, work areas, and other hazards before repairs or changes are made.
- Work orders and defect reports: These may document prior complaints, requested repairs, or known problems involving locomotives, machinery, or shop equipment.
- Training and qualification records: These may help establish whether employees received appropriate instruction for mechanical, electrical, inspection, or maintenance work.