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Bret McCoy was using a Wilson Manufacturing & Design portable conveyor belt to unload aggregate from railroad hopper cars into truck hoppers on Dec. 18 when he was severely injured. Truck Unloading Conveyor
A 23-year-old Wyoming man is suing an industrial equipment manufacturing company after he was sucked into a conveyor belt while unloading train cars, leaving him “permanently injured, disabled, and disfigured,” a new court filing states.
Bret McCoy was using a Wilson Manufacturing & Design portable conveyor belt to unload aggregate from railroad cars into truck hoppers on Dec. 18, a complaint filed Tuesday in federal court states. He was working south of Cheyenne at Granite Peak Transloading.
While attempting to open the train car, McCoy came in contact with the belt, according to the complaint. It quickly grabbed him.
“He was pulled into the machine and taken by the belt from the bottom, where the aggregate enters, all the way to the top, where the aggregate exits,” the complaint states.
Bret McCoy was using a Wilson Manufacturing & Design portable conveyor belt to unload aggregate from railroad hopper cars into truck hoppers on Dec. 18 when he was severely injured.
McCoy became trapped at the top. He was unable to go down because the belt was still running, and he was unable to escape through the top because he couldn’t fit through the funnel.
The Laramie County Fire Department eventually extricated McCoy from the top of the machine.
He sustained a slew of injuries — spine fractures, multiple broken ribs, a closed breastbone fracture, a broken left hip and numerous others.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was created in the early 1970s.
McCoy was taken to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center before being transferred to the Medical Center of the Rockies.
“He continues to need medical care and treatment,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit accuses Wilson Manufacturing & Design of building the conveyor belt without proper safety devices to prevent this type of incident. Specifically, the open area of entry was wide enough that a human could pass into the machinery.
McCoy’s attorneys say the Kentucky-based company acted negligently when it designed and sold the product in a “defective condition” that was unreasonably dangerous to users, the complaint states.
He is seeking “substantially” more than $75,000 in damages, but an amount was not specified, the complaint states. The damages include needing attendant care, now and in the future, due to how badly McCoy was injured.
James and Michael Fitzgerald, McCoy’s attorneys, declined to comment. No lawyer yet is listed for the company; Wilson Manufacturing & Design did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Follow Sofia Saric on Twitter @Sofia_Saric.
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Bret McCoy was using a Wilson Manufacturing & Design portable conveyor belt to unload aggregate from railroad hopper cars into truck hoppers on Dec. 18 when he was severely injured.
Bret McCoy was using a Wilson Manufacturing & Design portable conveyor belt to unload aggregate from railroad hopper cars into truck hoppers on Dec. 18 when he was severely injured.
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