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Man sues railroad subsidiary over loading dock accident (UPDATE)

By: Jack Zemlicka, [email protected]//August 30, 2011//

Man sues railroad subsidiary over loading dock accident (UPDATE)

By: Jack Zemlicka, [email protected]//August 30, 2011//

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A North Fond du Lac man is suing Wisconsin Central Ltd. for injuries sustained from a fall from an alleged defective loading dock.

Terry Schneider filed a personal injury lawsuit Monday in Milwaukee County Circuit Court against the subsidiary of Canadian National Railway claiming unspecified damages for the April accident.

According to the lawsuit, on or about April 11, Schneider was working as an equipment operator for Wisconsin Central at its North Fond du Lac materials building. While Schneider was unloading a semi-trailer at the receiving dock, he sustained permanent injuries when the driver pulled away from the dock, according to the lawsuit.

Schneider allegedly was thrown from the back door of the trailer and struck the dock plate before landing on a cement floor, the lawsuit states. Schneider shattered his arm in the fall and is unable to return to work because of the injury, said his attorney Randy LeNeave.

The safety device that locks delivery trucks to the unloading dock was broken, and Wisconsin Central failed to repair or replace the device or close the dock, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges negligence on the part of the company and also violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act for failing to develop a safety procedure and training for employees for check in and checkout of deliveries and other communication procedures.

Patrick Waldron, a spokesperson for Canadian, declined comment on the allegations.

Schneider’s attorney, Randy LeNeave, could not immediately be reached for comment.

But Bob Hager, a supervisor in the OSHA’s Appleton Area office, said the regional branch never conducted an investigation into the accident or issued a citation.

“I don’t have any information that indicates we conducted an investigation of that accident,” he said.

LeNeave suspects that Wisconsin Center never reported the incident, a point he plans to emphasize on behalf of his client.

LeNeave said the safety latch used to secure trucks to the loading dock had been broken for at least eight years before the accident and it was not fixed until the morning after the accident involving Schneider.

“This is something that should have been fixed so that trucks don’t take off with workers inside,” he said.

Hager said the last time Wisconsin Central was cited was 2006 and the last violation by Canadian was in 2009, according to the department database.

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