Locomotive worker claims hip injuries

A Union Pacific Railroad worker claims he suffers from a degenerative hip condition as a result of unsafe work practices, according to a suit filed July 16 in St. Clair County Circuit Court.

William J. Ward, who worked from 1971 to 2002 as a brakeman and conductor, is seeking in excess of $150,000 in damages claiming the railroad violated the Federal Employers' Liability Act, Locomotive Boiler Inspection Act and the Safety Appliance Act.

Ward states that he was exposed to cumulative and repetitive traumas to his hips and muscles as a result of repeated stress of mounting and dismounting locomotives.

He also claims his injuries came as a result of excessive vibration while aboard locomotives and rail cars, repeated lifting of heavy objects, lifting and carrying of heavy and awkwardly shaped objects, walking on uneven ballast surfaces, bending, twisting and the operation of switches and handbrakes that were poorly maintained.

Ward is represented by William P. Gavin of the Gavin Law Firm in Belleville.