Truck driver claims injury from airborne 2x4

A truck driver who was hit with wooden 2x4s filed a personal injury suit against Southern Illinois Railcar Company (SIRC) in Madison County Circuit Court alleging the company was negligent when unloading wood.

David Krueger claims that on Jan. 16, 2006, he drove his tractor trailer to SIRC's Carterville location to pick up scrap metal.

According to Krueger, SIRC improperly included the wooden 2x4s in his unenclosed trailer along with the scrap metal and had to remove them once the mistake was discovered.

He claims that while SIRC employees were removing the 2x4s from his trailer, an employee negligently threw one without looking to see if anyone was in the path of the 2x4's trajectory.

Krueger also claims SIRC employees failed to keep a proper lookout and failed to warn him he was throwing them off the trailer.

According to Krueger, he was both temporarily and permanently injured which caused him to suffer great pain and discomfort, lost wages and medical expenses.

Represented by Mario Palermo of Aurora, Krueger is seeking damages in excess of $50,000, plus costs of the suit.

Even though the alleged incident occurred in Williamson County, Krueger claims SIRC's main office is in Troy, as a basis for filing the claim in Madison County.

07 L 828