Former Gateway Packaging employee says he was discharged over work comp claim

Gateway Packaging Co. in Granite City is being sued by a former worker who claims he was wrongfully terminated from his job after filing for workers' compensation benefits.

Khamphanh Khammanivong claims that on May 12, 2012, he slipped in oil on the floor of the plant and in the process his left hand hit a machine in the cutter area and severed his left finger at the joint.

The suit claims his medical provider ordered him off work for two months, and three days after he returned to work he was discharged. He claims he had worked at Gateway Packaging for nearly five years.

Khammanivong, represented by Michael Brunton of Collinsville, seeks in excess of $50,000 for past lost wages and future loss of earnings, among other things. He also claims he it entitled to an award of punitive damages for his alleged retaliatory discharge.

He also claims that he had reported to his supervisors that there was oil on the floor and that safety devices were not on machines, in violation of the Illinois Health and Safety Act.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 14-L-1189.