A deliveryman is suing a pair of industrial firms over his alleged slip and fall on an oil-ridden walkway.
Richard Hopkins filed a lawsuit on May 29 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Cargill Inc. and Cargill AGHorizons U.S.A., claiming negligence in a June 2014 incident on the defendants’ grain elevator premises in East St. Louis.
The suit states that the plaintiff, an employee of Brink Bros. Grain and Trucking Inc., drove a truck onto the grain elevator premises with the defendant’s permission on June 4, 2014, in order to unload a grain delivery.
The complaint states that oil had spilled on the walking surfaces in the delivery area, creating a slipping hazard. The plaintiff purportedly slipped on the slick surface, sustaining injuries to muscles, tendons and nerves in his shoulder and spine.
Hopkins asserts that the defendant committed negligent acts or omissions by permitting the oil to spill, failing to properly clean it, and continuing to operate under hazardous circumstances. The suit also maintains that Cargill failed to warn the plaintiff of the danger and neglected to isolate the walking surface from the remaining uncontaminated walkways in the work area.
Alleging pain, suffering, disability, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement, anxiety over lost earning capacity and medical bills as a proximate result of his injuries, Hopkins seeks damages in excess of $50,000 from both defendants, plus attorneys’ fees and costs.
He is represented by William Gavin of the Gavin Law Firm in Belleville.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 15-L-321.