Norfolk Southern, Kieffer Brothers and IMI Southwest summoned to respond to injury suit

The St. Clair County Clerk's office issued a summons on Jan. 10 to Norfolk Southern Railway Co., Kieffer Brothers Construction Co. and IMI Southwest to respond to a lawsuit filed against them by a man who was allegedly injured in an accident.

In a lawsuit filed Oct. 25, Douglas Whitaker claims a concrete truck driven by defendant Randy Pruden entered a private crossing and caused a collision with the train he was riding in.

The incident occurred in or around Mt. Carmel on Oct. 26, 2009.

Because of the collision, Whitaker claims he sustained back injuries, endured pain and incurred medical costs. He also lost wages, his suit says.

Whitaker claims Pruden negligently failed to keep a proper lookout and failed to slow his concrete truck to avoid a collision.

At the time of the collision, Pruden was working for defendants Kieffer Bros. and IMI Southwest. The two companies were constructing a roadway near the private crossing, Whitaker claims.

In its attempts to build the roadway, Kieffer Bros. failed to maintain safe premises and failed to warn motorists of the dangerous conditions at the crossing, according to the complaint.

IMI negligently failed to train its employees, failed to exercise supervision over its workers and failed to protect Whitaker from injuries at the railroad crossing, the suit states.

In addition to Pruden, Kieffer Bros. and IMI, Whitaker names Norfolk Southern Railway Company as a defendant, saying it failed to construct a safe crossing and did not mark the crossing.

Whitaker is seeking a judgment of more than $50,000. He is being represented by Ryan Brennan of The Brennan Law Firm in Belleville.

St. Clair County Judge Lloyd Cueto is assigned to the case. He set the case for a status conference on April 3.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number: 11-L-604.