February 26, 2025

Railroad crossings and machinery-related amputations

As a service to our policyholders, Texas Mutual shares serious workplace injury trends based on catastrophic injuries and fatalities reported to our claims department. Not all of these reported injuries are covered by workers’ compensation insurance, but our goal is to help you ensure these types of incidents do not happen in your workplace. Find safety tips below to help keep your employees safe on the job.

If you have questions, we encourage you to contact our safety services support center at 844-WORKSAFE (967-5723) or safety@texasmutual.com.

In this alert:

• Railroad crossings
• Machinery-related amputations

Railroad crossings

In two separate incidents, employees were driving across railroad crossings when their vehicles were struck by a train. Unfortunately, one of the employees lost their life as a result of the collision.

Vehicle-train collisions are a significant safety concern, particularly in Texas. According to preliminary 2024 Federal Railroad Administration statistics, Texas ranked first in the nation with 257 highway-rail grade crossing collisions, resulting in 17 deaths and 75 injuries.

• Plan your route in advance to minimize railroad crossings when possible.
• Turn down the radio and avoid other distractions like cell phones while driving.
• Look both ways and listen carefully when approaching a railroad crossing.
• If a train is coming, wait for it to pass completely before proceeding.
• Evacuate your vehicle immediately if it stalls on a railroad crossing, and call 911 or local emergency services.

Machinery-related amputations

An employee was operating an extruder machine when their hand got caught in the screw mechanism. In a separate incident, an employee’s right arm was pulled into a rotating cylinder of an industrial machine, causing crushing injuries that led to an emergency amputation.

Machinery-related amputations are severe and life-altering injuries that can occur when proper safety procedures and machine guarding are not in place or followed. Although new hires can be at greater risk if not properly trained, experienced employees can become complacent to the hazards involved.

• Conduct a pre-shift inspection of your machine to ensure guards and safety devices are in place.
• Review the machine’s operating manual and standard operating procedures before use.
• Wear appropriate personal protective equipment, including close-fitting clothing and safety gloves.
• Use tools or push sticks to feed materials into machines.
• Never reach into or around machine guards while equipment is running.

Get free safety resources

Texas Mutual policyholders have access to thousands of free training materials in our multimedia safety resource center, including our safety catalog with up-to-date resources.

To access the free materials, log in to your texasmutual.com account and select Safety. If you need help accessing safety resources or you have a safety question, call us toll-free at 844-WORKSAFE (967-5723).

Download a PDF (191KB) version of the February Safety Alert.