Welding crew supervisor slaps Union Pacific, Snelten Inc. with suit over foot injury

A Whiteside County man is suing over claims he was injured while supervising a track welding crew.

Craig Knutson filed a lawsuit Sept. 30 in the Cook County Circuit Court against Union Pacific Railroad and Snelten Inc., citing negligence.

According to the complaint, Knutson was supervising a track welding gang as supervisor for Union Pacific at its Proviso Yard on Oct. 9, 2012. He claims the crew was cutting rail to remove and replace a crossover switch, when a Snelten employee, who was assigned to remove the cut rail, slid the forks under the rail, but had difficulty lifting it.

Knutson alleges he saw a large ballast covering the rail and directed the employee to stop, but the employee proceeded with a second attempt, causing the rail to flip up and land on his foot. The defendants are accused of being negligent in failing to provide the Knutson with a safe place to work and allowing unqualified people to operate heavy equipment.

Knutson is seeking more than $75,000 in damages and is being represented in the case by attorney John S. Bishof Jr. of The Law Office of John Bishof P.C. in Chicago.

Cook County Circuit Court case number: 2014L010188

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Cook County Circuit Court. 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.