from Sean Fitz-Gerald of the Toronto Star,

An airport baggage handler in the U.S. is suing the Maple Leafs after he suffered “permanent and disabling” shoulder injuries when the team raced to fly out after a game, with one member of the equipment staff allegedly rushing gear into the plane.

Kenneth Osborne filed suit earlier this month in St. Clair County, Ill., across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Mo., where the Leafs fell 3-0 to the Blues in a game on Jan. 17, 2015.

Osborne, working for Jet Aviation, was helping load the Leafs charter.

According to the complaint against Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, Osborne and his colleagues were using a conveyor belt — one controlled by a lever on the ground — to load the plane. The Leafs equipment worker, who is not named in the suit, is alleged to have “repeatedly operated the lever in an attempt to speed up the loading operation,” despite at least one warning not to interfere.

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