What’s Missing From Railroad Safety Data? Dead Workers and Severed Limbs

What’s Missing From Railroad Safety Data? Dead Workers and Severed Limbs

Topher Sanders, Dan Schwartz, Danelle Morton and Gabriel Sandoval / March 13

Thanks to government loopholes, rail companies haven’t been scrutinized by the Federal Railroad Administration for scores of alleged worker injuries and at least two deaths. But, as ProPublica has previously reported, railroad companies go to extreme lengths to portray themselves as safer than they really are — retaliating against workers who report defects and silencing those who get injured. Officials with the FRA have said there is not much they can do about the forces — like the financial implications of appearing to admit liability and a culture that faults managers when employees get hurt on their watch — that can drive companies to quash injury reporting.

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