Railroad Didn’t Report Injuries, Investigators Say

Federal safety regulators said Thursday that they will seek $75,000 in fines against Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Corp. for failing to report job-related injuries among workers.

Federal Railroad Administration investigators found that the nation’s second-largest railroad failed to report 15 cases of carpal tunnel injury that were at least in part work related, said George Gavalla, the agency’s associate administrator for safety. He said the agency will recommend a $5,000 penalty for each unreported case.

The findings came as a result of a probe launched last week into why the railroad had reported no cases of carpal tunnel syndrome, only to later disclose that 125 workers had claimed that their jobs gave them the neuromuscular condition. The cases came to light in the wake of a lawsuit charging the railroad with conducting genetic tests on unwitting workers who claimed they were hurt on the job.

Railroad spokesman Richard Russack said Thursday that he could not comment on the investigation’s findings because he had not been officially notified.