Plaintiff appeals from an order of the circuit court granting summary disposition to defendant. Plaintiff was injured while in the course of her employment by Cooperative Elevator Company. Specifically, she had climbed atop a grain car operated by defendant in order to open a lid or hatch of the car so that grain could be loaded. Plaintiff alleged that the lid was defective, causing her to expend an extraordinary amount of energy to lift it. Further, she alleged that the lid suddenly flew up and knocked her to the ground, causing her to sustain serious, disabling and permanent injuries.
Defendant denies that the hatch was defective.
20101 et seq. A State may adopt or continue in force a law, regulation, or order related to railroad safety until the Secretary of Transportation prescribes a regulation or issues an order covering the subject matter of the State requirement. In the case at bar, both sides concede that there are no federal regulations covering duties related to grain car hatches or lids. Therefore, we conclude that, under the express terms of 20106, any state laws, regulations or orders related to grain car hatches or lids remain in force until and unless the federal Secretary of Transportation adopts a regulation or issues an order regarding grain car hatches or lids. In Easterwood , the Court clarified that legal duties imposed by state common law fall within the scope of 20106, addressing the question whether the Secretary of Transportation had issued regulations covering the same subject matter as state negligence law.