KANSAS CITY, Kansas – a railroad worker employed by the BNSF reportedly died this morning after falling into a grain car. According to news reports, the unnamed worker had apparently been trying to move the grain from the railcar into the trailer of semi when he fell into the grain car. The worker was dead by the time rescuers arrived on the scene. Firefighters on the scene stated that the grain acts like quicksand making it nearly impossible to get out. The workers body was found at the bottom of the grain car. The incident occurred at the BNSF rail yard near I-35 and Kansas Avenue.
Railroad work has consistently ranked as one of the most dangerous jobs in the United States. However, unlike workers in most other industries, railroad workers are generally not covered by state workers compensation laws. Instead, their exclusive remedy for an on the job injury or death is the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), which requires the employee or his family to show that the injury or death was the result, either in whole or in part, of negligence on behalf of the railroad employer.