(The following story by Shelley Rossetter appeared on the St. Petersburg Times website on December 19, 2009.)
TAMPA — A national steel company with a location in Plant City was sued last week by the wife of a former employee who died while on the job.
Micah Gilbert sued Ameri-Steel Bright Bar and related corporations, along with its worker compensation carrier ACE American Insurance Co., on behalf of her deceased husband, Brian Gilbert, and their son, Aiden Gilbert, on Dec. 10.
Brian Gilbert, 30, of Plant City, died in February 2004 at Ameri≠Steel’s rebar fabricating center in Plant City. Gilbert had been helping back up railroad cars to unload rebar and a co-worker found him under one of the cars with his arm severed. Gilbert died at the scene, according to the lawsuit filed in Hillsborough Circuit Court.
The lawsuit says that in the days following the accident, AmeriSteel and ACE refused to allow a private investigator for the family to have access to the scene of Gilbert’s death for investigations and photographs. As a result, attorneys for Micah and Aiden Gilbert were unable to prove wrongful death claims against CSX, the company that owned the railroad cars.
Despite several phone calls and messages Friday, representatives for AmeriSteel, ACE and Gilbert could not be reached.
In 2005, Micah and Aiden Gilbert sued CSX, AmeriSteel and ACE. The lawsuits against AmeriSteel and ACE were dismissed. In July 2009, a Hillsborough judge ruled in favor of CSX.
The suit maintains that the family’s effort to prevail over CSX was “significantly impaired” by the inability to gather and preserve evidence, and asks the court to hold the steel company and insurer responsible.
Micah and Aiden Gilbert are seeking lost wages, medical expenses and compensation for mental pain and suffering.