Appellate Court rejects restaurant’s evidentiary and damages challenges in wrongful-death suit
Rivas v. Benny’s Prime Chophouse, 2025 IL App (1st) 242044
On Sept. 30, 2025 the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that Workers’ Compensation Act does not bar a negligence suit when a restaurant employee died of anaphylaxis after eating an optional, off-the-clock staff meal.
In 2010, Angel Rivas was employed at a restaurant owned by Benny’s Prime Chophouse LLC, which offered employees optional, off-the-clock meals made from leftover ingredients after their shifts. Angel had a known allergy to seafood and consumed an “off-the-clock meal” containing seafood despite this allergy. He later died from anaphylactic shock. After his death, his wife, Luz Rivas, filed a worker’s compensation claim that Benny’s denied. She then brought a wrongful-death lawsuit. Following a bench trial, judgment was entered in Rivas’ favor with a finding of contributory negligence against the decedent. The defendant appealed and the matter was reversed and remanded for a new trial. Rivas amended her complaint to include a survival action for negligence; a wrongful death action for negligence; and a judicial estoppel claim to bar arguments regarding the Workers’ Compensation Act. The court once again ruled in favor of Rivas. Benny’s appealed, claiming: 1) the Act barred the suit; the trial court erred in denying a directed finding; 2) the evidentiary rulings were improper; 3) damages were excessive; and 4) the decedent was more than 50 percent at fault.
The First District affirmed. The Act did not bar the negligence claim because the risk was personal to the employee and the voluntary, off-the-clock meal was offered outside the course of employment. The trial court also properly considered and rejected Benny’s affirmative defense on the merits, making any judicial estoppel issue irrelevant. Lastly, the trial court acted within its discretion in admitting limited speculative testimony; the damages were reasonable and not duplicative; and the evidence supported the 40 percent comparative-fault finding.
