Lamarian Gates filed a Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) suit against Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis in St. Clair County Circuit Court Sept. 8, seeking damages in excess of $50,000.
Gates alleges Terminal failed to provide him with a safe place to work, safe methods, tools and equipment, and failed to provide him with sufficient manpower.
Passed by the U.S. Congress in 1908, FELA was designed to protect and compensate railroaders who sustained injuries while working. Unlike state worker's compensation law, FELA requires the injured worker to prove that the railroad was "legally negligent," at least in part, in causing an injury.
According to the complaint, Gates was a machine operator at Terminal from 1973 through 2001, and was injured when he was allegedly subjected to numerous repetitive traumas and walking on unstable ballast while repairing Terminal’s railroad tracks.
Gates claims he sustained severe and permanent injuries to his back, neck and spine which have and will cause him to suffer great pain and mental anguish, lost wages, medical expenses. He also claims his ability to earn wages has been diminished.
Gates is represented by Gregory Tobin of Pratt & Tobin in East Alton.
FELA suit filed by Terminal worker
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