Union Pacific Conductor Loses Appeal in Workplace Injury Suit

A Union Pacific conductor who slipped on a small, unexplained oil spot and fell while assembling a train for departure at an Illinois rail yard can’t revive federal negligence claims against the railroad, the Seventh Circuit ruled Thursday.

Bradley LeDure couldn’t establish that the Locomotive Inspection Act applied to him or that his injuries were reasonably foreseeable, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit said, affirming the district court’s summary judgment ruling in the railroad’s favor.

LeDure’s accident happened while he was on duty at the rail yard, and was caused by a “small amount of oil” found ...