The family of a BNSF Railway employee killed in an accident in western South Dakota is suing the railroad, alleging it failed to protect him from being hit by a train while he was clearing snow and ice from a track.
The Rapid City Journal reported 35-year-old Richard Lessert died of injuries he sustained in the January 17 accident, when he was struck and dragged under a locomotive, suffering severe orthopedic and internal injuries. His father filed the lawsuit on behalf of his widow and three children.
The lawsuit accuses the railway of failing to provide a safe work environment and the tools necessary for Lessert to do his job. The suit said the accident happened when Lessert was using a blower to clear snow and ice from a track and that the noise of the blower, the hearing protection he was wearing and the noise of a nearby train on a different track diminished his hearing. The suit also said Lessert’s view of the approaching train was obstructed by a curve in the track, an overpass and the other train on a nearby track.
A spokeswoman for the railway said the incident was “tragic” but declined further comment, citing an ongoing federal investigation.
The Lesserts are represented by attorneys Charles Abourezk, of the Abourezk Law Firm in Rapid City; Christopher Leach, of the Hubbell Law Firm in Kansas City; and Scott Bethune and Wes Shumate of Davis, Bethune and Jones in Kansas City.
BNSF identified another victim in the accident as 58-year-old Douglas Schmitz.
Topics Lawsuits
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