SANDUSKY, Ohio — A lawsuit for more than $3 million was filed against CSX Transportation Inc. last week in connection with the Jan. 2001 death of a Willard woman, according to the Sandusky Register.
Judith Ann Workman, 41, a native of the Shelby-Shiloh area, had moved to Willard three months before her death.
On Jan. 5, 2001, Workman was carrying a bag of groceries home from Missler’s Super Valu grocery store at 20 Woodland Ave., Willard, according to the lawsuit.
The grocery store is next to the CSX Transportation railroad yard in Willard. Workman cut through the railroad yard in the dark and was struck by a train, the lawsuit said. She died as a result of injuries from the accident.
According to the lawsuit filed by attorneys for Gladys Mullins, administrator of Workman’s estate, CSX employees should have known Workman was in the railroad yard.
Also, CSX knew operation of machinery in the yard could be dangerous or harmful to non-railroad employees, according to the lawsuit.
The railroad allegedly failed to warn the victim, failed to inspect the property before moving the train, failed to give audible signals as the train approached the victim, and failed to provide adequate lights, among other accusations in the lawsuit.
Workman was not the only person who used the railroad yard as a shortcut to and from the grocery store, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit asks for compensatory damages in excess of $25,000 for the loss suffered by Workman’s husband, son and relatives, as well as the pain and emotional distress Workman suffered after the accident before she died.
The lawsuit also asks for punitive damages of $3 million plus costs of the court action because of railway safety statute violations which led to Workman’s fatal injuries.
Spokespeople for CSX Transportation Inc. and Workman’s estate could not be reached for comment Tuesday.