Death Of Public Works Employee: Family Sues Westmont, Village Manager

WESTMONT, IL — The family of a public works employee who drowned after becoming trapped underground in February has filed a lawsuit against the village of Westmont. Matthew Heiden, 20, died Feb. 23 while repairing a broken water main.

The suit was filed by Matthew's mother, Laurie Heiden, who is the administrator of his estate. Along with the village of Westmont, the following parties were named as plaintiffs:

• Stephen May, P.E., village manager of Westmont and former director of public works
• Intergovernmental Risk Agency
• Mueller Water Products, Inc.
• Mueller Co.
• M.E. Simpson Company, Inc.

Per the lawsuit, Matthew Heiden was "the most junior full-time employee" of the village's water department. The suit alleges Heiden was sent "into a known dangerous confined space made even more deadly by the full force of municipal-strength water pressure, to work on a non-isolated, fully energized, water main valve, without even the most basic plan, training, safety equipment, support, or supervision."

Heiden's death was attributed to "drowning due to submersion in a flooded water main vault following cutting of a water main pipe and subsequent entrapment of the right upper extremity within the pipe," the lawsuit saying, quoting DuPage County Coroner's Chief Forensic Pathologist, Dr. Hiliary S. McElligott.

Additionally, the complaint asserts that Heiden sustained injuries that indicate the last moments of his life were "violently horrific" as he tried to escape.

The lawsuit claims the village was previously cited for the safety violations that led to Heiden's death.

Per the suit, the Village of Westmont was cited in October 2021 because "water department employees are expected to enter into confined spaces when performing certain tasks."

The suit states, "On or about July 28, 2021, while conducting an inspection of the Westmont water department, multiple citations were issued for this employer for various violations. The citations were issued on 10/12/2021 with an initial abatement due date of 12/20/2021. The employer did not provide the necessary abatement certification, including documentation demonstrating complete abatement of the cited violation to Illinois OSHA."

The complaint also says that "the October 12, 2021 ILOSHA Citation found employees of the Village of Westmont and its water department 'are expected to enter into confined spaces when performing certain job duties, without being properly trained to perform these tasks.'"

Related: Public Works Employee Dies Fixing Burst Water Main In Westmont

After Heiden's death, seven OSHA citations were issued to the village of Westmont. Per the lawsuit, the citations included a repeat violation for failing to provide personal protective equipment. They were also cited for failing to meet confined space pre-entry checklist protocol.

These violations were listed as "contested" as of late July, per the OSHA website.

May responded to Patch's request for comment, saying, "Neither the Village nor I have been served with a copy of this lawsuit and we have no comment as a result."

The lawsuit is seeking an undisclosed amount of money, including funeral and burial costs, and notes that Heiden, "prior to his death, experienced great physical pain and mental anguish as a result of the drowning" and was "hindered and prevented from pursuing his normal course of employment, thereby losing large sums of money which otherwise would have accrued to him and his estate."

Read the full lawsuit: