BELLEVILLE – A packing company employee filed a negligence lawsuit after he was allegedly crushed by a bag of fishmeal that fell out of an open shipping container.
Starnet Insurance company, Gateway Co-Packing Acquisition and John Roessler filed a lawsuit in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Starkist Samoa, Starkist, Co., The Scoular Company, Scoular International Marine Proteins, Matson Navigation Company, Inc., Twin Lake Trucking, LTD., Dwayne Hicks and BNSF Railway, citing negligence
According to the lawsuit, Roessler was employed by Gateway Co-Packing as a project manager, and Gateway was insured by Starnet for payment of worker's compensation benefits on that date. The lawsuit states that on Dec. 3, 2020, there was a container with bags of fishmeal, which weighed 2,000 to 2,200 pounds. The bags were shipped from Starkist Samoa and delivered to Gateway by Twin lake Trucking on a container truck driven by Hicks. The shipment was navigated to the port by Matson Navigation Company, and Scoular International Marine Proteins was the co-signee and notified party for the shipment. The plaintiff alleges Hicks docked the container truck with the doors open.
The lawsuit states that while Roessler was carrying out his duties at work, one of the bags of fishmeal fell from the open container and crushed him, causing him to suffer serious injuries. He claims that he soon filed an Application for Adjustment of Claims against Gateway under the Illinois Worker's Compensation Act for the injuries he suffered. According to the lawsuit, Starnet paid Roessler's claim and will continue to pay him benefits in the future.
According to the complaint, the defendants negligently failed to carry out their duties to properly maintain the premises to ensure the safety of employees.
Roessler claims he sustained injuries, which have caused him to endure pain, suffering, mental anguish, disability and lost wages. His injuries will allegedly impact his ability to earn income and enjoy normal daily activities. Roessler adds that as a result of his injuries, he has incurred medical costs and will continue to require medical care to recover from his injuries.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages in excess of $50,000, plus court costs and any other relief the court deems proper. They are represented in this case by attorney Brian T. Raterman of Nyhan, Bambrick, Kinzie and Lowry, P.C. in Chicago.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 22LA0985