Alton and Southern sued by employee claming cumulative trauma

A man claims he sustained back injuries after years of working as a truck driver and laborer for a railroad company.

Kevin E. Wengert filed a lawsuit Dec. 2 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against The Alton and Southern Railway Company.

Wengert alleges he worked as a truck driver and laborer for the company, using railroad-provided tools and methods. However, his use of the tools and methods resulted in cumulative trauma to his back, according to the complaint.

Wengert's work has led him to sustain disability, to suffer pain and mental anguish and to lose earnings, the suit states. In addition, he incurred medical costs and experienced a diminished future earning capacity, the complaint says.

Wengert names The Alton and Southern Railway Company as a defendant, saying it negligently failed to provide him with a safe place to work, failed to provide him with safe tools, failed to provide him with safe work methods and failed to provide him with proper supervision. In addition, the railroad, failed to warn him of the possibility of trauma injuries, failed to warn him about the development of cumulative trauma and failed to repair its machinery, according to the complaint.

In his complaint, Wengert seeks a judgment of more than $50,000, plus costs.

David L. Blunt of Blunt Slocomb in Edwardsville will be representing him.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number: 10-L-631.