(The following article by Penny Brown Roberts appeared in the Baton Rouge Advocate on July 30.)
BATON ROUGE, La. — A Kansas City Southern Railway switchman run over by a remote-controlled locomotive in March and dragged down the tracks is suing the company for $3 million in damages.
In a lawsuit filed late Monday in U.S. District Court in Baton Rouge, George B. Bankston, 29, of Clinton alleges the railway company was negligent in its work and safety practices and its operation of remote-control engines.
On March 13, Bankston was walking across the tracks in the Baton Rouge Yard to a work area when an engine being operated via remote control by his crew inside its cab ran over him, the suit alleges.
After being “dragged for a great distance,” Bankston suffered a partial amputation and severing of his right foot, fractured ribs and vertebrae, a severe scalp laceration and other serious injuries, according to the suit.
Reached Tuesday at his home, Bankston declined to comment, referring all questions to his lawyers. Baton Rouge Attorney Floyd Falcon Jr. said his client has not been able to work since the accident.
“He’s suffered a lot of pain, he’s had surgeries, and he hasn’t been able to work,” Falcon said. “How is something like this going to affect anyone? Since the accident, he has an inability to earn a living.”
Doniele Kane, spokeswoman for Kansas City Southern, declined to address the allegations in the lawsuit. “Kansas City Southern has not been served in Louisiana and cannot comment on matters in litigation,” she said.
Bankston — who has requested a jury trial — seeks $3 million in damages to cover past and future lost wages and benefits, as well as medical and other expenses.
Although Kansas City Southern Railway maintains that the use of remote-control locomotives is safe and efficient, the practice has raised concerns in Baton Rouge.
In September, the Metro Council passed a legally nonbinding resolution banning their use and calling for railroads to notify the mayor before implementing another remote-control facility.
Kansas City Southern has used remote-controlled trains since April 2002 at its switching yard behind Memorial Stadium. The remotes are used to build trains in the switching yard, where a control tower can operate up to six locomotives.
The practice is also opposed by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, one of the two largest railroad workers’ unions. The organization has documented nearly 60 remote-related accidents since December 2000, including the incident involving Bankston and two others in Baton Rouge.
In February, five Kansas City Southern cars derailed from a railroad bridge onto Interstate 110. No one was injured but eight automobiles were damaged by falling debris. Two hoppers and five chemical tankers derailed and fell onto the highway. All the cars were empty.
The incident, which involved a remote-controlled unit, prompted the Metro Council’s resolution.
In August 2002, the union reports, a remote-control unit was shoved out the far end of the yard and overturned a car. No one was injured in the incident.