Union Pacific permitted unsafe work practices, employee says

Union Pacific Railroad is being sued by an employee who claims his injuries are due to the railroad negligently permitting unsafe work practices to become routine work practices.

Bernard Brown filed suit against the railroad July 16 in St. Clair County Circuit Court.

Brown, who's worked as a brakeman, conductor and engineer from 1974 to present, claims that cumulative and repetive trauma to his knees, left shoulder and right hand have caused him to develop degenerative conditions.

Represented by William P. Gavin of the Gavin Law Firm in Belleville, Brown is seeking in excess of $450,000.

He claims the railroad has violated the Federal Employers' Liability Act, the Locomotive Boiler Inspection Act and the Safety Appliance Act.

Brown claims he has not been provided a reasonably safe place to work, nor been provided with adequate equipment to protect himself. He claims he has been required to walk on uneven ballast surfaces, get on and off moving railroad equipment, repeatedly lift and carry heavy and awkwardly shaped objects, operate difficult handbrakes, and be exposed to ergonomically hazardous conditions.