Westmont sued over water department worker's drowning death
A Westmont village worker who drowned to death in an underground water main vault was not properly equipped or trained for working in a confined space, his mother alleges in a lawsuit.
Matthew Heiden was not wearing a safety harness, and other safety procedures were not followed, according to the lawsuit filed Nov. 22 in DuPage County.
Heiden, 20, died on Feb. 23 in a vault at 60th Street and Deming Place.
"The town just basically failed this kid," said Michael Egan, Laurie Heiden's attorney.
According to the lawsuit, Heiden was in the vault to work on a flange on a valve on a 12-inch-diameter water main. Water on both sides of the vault should have been turned off and flushed out, but it was not. Somehow "highly energized" water from the fully charged side of the main dislodged the valve, according to the suit. Heiden's right arm became trapped in the valve assembly, and water poured into the vault. He drowned on the floor of the vault, according to the lawsuit.
Westmont Village Manager Stephen Fry said Friday he has not seen the suit. He said the village does not comment on pending litigation.
The Illinois Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the village with seven violations and levied a $24,000 fine, according to Illinois OSHA records shared by Egan. The village is disputing the Illinois OSHA case, and Fry said he could not comment on that either.
Illinois OSHA regulations state the village has to fill out a permit each time it sends a worker into a confined space. That includes evaluating the specific space and determining what safety measures should be taken, according to the Illinois OSHA citations and the lawsuit. Illinois OSHA alleges that Westmont did not do so in this case and has not done so since 2017. Illinois OSHA categorized these violations as "willful."
The tool to shut off the water should have been on site, according to Illinois OSHA.
Illinois OSHA also charged the village did not supply required protective equipment to Heiden, a repeat offense, the agency alleges.
Heiden should have been wearing a chest or full-body harness with a retrieval rope attached to the back so someone could pull him out in case of an emergency, according to the Illinois OSHA citation. An attendant should have been standing outside the vault at all times, according to Illinois OSHA.
Illinois OSHA alleges Westmont workers were unaware the village had procedures for entering and working in confined spaces and had not been trained.