Article ID: 97d8c1a73f3c20162de6e535ca7872b9a82a9d0da982c4ea501658a61f1616c9
Source ID: secondary:businessinsurance.com
Published At: -
Extraction Method: bs4_heuristic
URL: https://www.businessinsurance.com/court-revives-suit-over-water-workers-death-in-flooded-vault/
Body Text
Court revives suit over water worker’s death in flooded vault - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Court revives suit over water worker’s death in flooded vault by Louise Esola Claims Disputes , Workers Comp Coverage , Workplace Safety Mar 6, 2026 An Illinois appellate court on Thursday revived a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the estate of a municipal water worker who drowned after being sent alone into an underground vault, ruling the claims are not barred by workers compensation exclusivity at the pleading stage. In Heiden v. Village of Westmont , the Illinois Appellate Court for the Third District reversed a lower court’s dismissal of the case and remanded it for further proceedings. The case stems from the February 2023 death of Matthew Heiden, a 20-year-old employee of the Village of Westmont’s water department. According to the complaint, the village sent Mr. Heiden alone into a permit-required confined space to repair a leaking valve without required safety precautions or protective equipment. While Mr. Heiden was in the underground vault, a valve dislodged, trapping his arm as the vault filled with water. Emergency responders eventually freed him, but he was pronounced dead at a hospital. An investigation by the Illinois Department of Labor identified multiple safety failures, including the absence of a confined-space entry permit, lack of training and personal protective equipment, failure to de-energize the water main and the absence of a retrieval system such as a harness and line. The worker’s estate sued the village and others, alleging the municipality intentionally violated safety rules and knowingly sent the worker into a dangerous confined space. A Du Page County circuit court dismissed the claims against the village, ruling they were barred by the exclusivity provisions of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act. The appellate court disagreed, finding the estate plausibly alleged intentional conduct sufficient to invoke an exception to workers compensation exclusivity, which generally bars civil suits against employers for workplace injuries. The court also rejected the village’s argument that it was immune under the state’s Tort Immunity Act, concluding the allegations concerned the municipality’s failure to comply with safety laws rather than a failure to enforce them. Finally, the panel found the estate adequately pleaded causation. The court emphasized that its ruling addressed only whether the complaint could proceed, not whether the estate would ultimately prevail. The case was remanded to the trial court. Related News Lawyering up does not mean logging into ChatGPT: lawsuit March 6, 2026 Federal law bars cannabis as treatment for injured worker March 6, 2026 Lockton hires former Marsh energy leader March 6, 2026 The BI Top 10 for the week of March 2, 2026 March 6, 2026 Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun settles SEC fraud case for $10 million March 6, 2026 US judge to meet parties on Trump-tariff refunds in ‘settlement conference’ March 6, 2026 Maritime insurance premiums surge as Iran conflict widens March 6, 2026 Lloyd’s, U.S. agency in talks on Gulf maritime risk cover March 6, 2026 Pool Re secures $3.7B retro cover March 6, 2026 Facebook-f X-twitter Linkedin-in Business Insurance is a singular, authoritative news and information source for executives focused upon risk management, risk transfer and risk financing. Never miss important news: Become a Business Insurance Online subscriber today Subscribe Now Information About Us Contact Advertise Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions Copyright 2026. BUSINESS INSURANCE HOLDINGS Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
Metadata (JSON)
{
"score": 14.216666666666667
}