A man has sued various employers, alleging he suffered head and neck injuries when a co-worker threw a tie-down, hitting him on the head.
Donald Scales alleges he was working as a grain inspector for North Dakota Grain Inspection on Feb. 12, 2013. As part of his duties, he inspected barges docked to ensure they were clean for loading grain, according to the complaint filed Jan. 9 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against SCF, Lewis and Clark, Bulk Service, Lewis and Clark Terminals, SCF Marine and Philip Dalton.
While Scales was inspecting the barge for the defendants, Dalton threw a tie-down line onto the barge, the suit states, and the line used to secure the barge to the shore struck Scales in the head.
Because of the incident, Scales suffered permanent injuries to his head, neck, back, shoulder blades and arms and incurred medical costs, the suit states. He also lost earnings, suffered great physical and mental pain, lost his enjoyment of life and suffered permanent injury and disability, according to the complaint.
The defendants negligently failed to perform their employment duties in a manner that was safe, failed to inspect the barge to be certain no one was present on it, failed to warn about their intention to throw the line, failed to keep a proper lookout, failed to handle the line a safe manner and failed to allow Scales to move out of the way before throwing the line, the suit states.
Scales seeks an unspecified judgment to compensate him for his injuries. He will be represented by attorneys Ronald J. Foster Jr. and Micah S. Summers of Schoen, Walton, Telken and Foster in East St. Louis.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number: 15-L-6.