Railway company sued by injured construction worker

A man is suing a railway company over allegations he was injured when a train passed while he was working under a bridge.

Anthony Vaccaro filed a lawsuit Nov 15 in the Circuit Court of Cook County against BNSF Railway Company and Michael Lopez, citing negligence.

According to the complaint, on Nov. 17, 2011, BNSF owned, maintained and controlled the westerly most railroad tracks below the Interstate 80 bridge near its intersection with Gardner Street in Joliet.

Vaccaro claims that on that date, he was employed as a laborer foreman by D Construction Inc. and was hired to perform certain repairs and construction work on the Interstate 80 bridge near Gardner Street.

He alleges that he was working near an aerial platform installing lagging to the bottom of the bridge beams when he was struck by the platform after it was hit by a northbound BNSF train.

The complaint contends the plaintiff's injury was caused by the negligence of BNSF flagmen.

Vaccaro is seeking damages in excess of $50,000. He is being represented in the case by Kevin O'Connor of the O'Connor Law Firm Ltd.

Circuit Court of Cook County Case No. 2013L013138.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.