The family of an Uber Eats rider has filed a workers’ compensation claim over his death, in what could become a landmark case for the gig economy, reports The Guardian. Five delivery riders have died in Australia since the end of September. Dede Fredy, a 36-year-old Uber Eats worker from Indonesia, died on 27 September after he was hit by a car in Sydney while delivering food. Now a claim for workers’ compensation for a work-related death has been filed on behalf of his widow, Nyoman Sunarti, and their four-year old son Muhammad. Under current Australian labour laws, food delivery riders are considered independent contractors, not employees. The claim was filed with the state insurer iCare on Tuesday by lawyers acting for the Transport Workers’ Union.

The union is arguing that Fredy and other contractors are entitled to the same workplace compensation in the event of death as Uber’s employees who work in its offices. Fredy’s family and other Uber Eats riders are covered by a group insurance policy bought by the company. The claim was filed with the state insurer iCare on Tuesday by lawyers acting for the Transport Workers’ Union. he Transport Workers’ Union national secretary, Michael Kaine, said if the claim with iCare for statutory compensation was rejected, the union would pursue it as a test case at the Workers Compensation Commission. Kaine added that the federal government should play a role in regulating the gig economy.

Labour law expert Joellen Riley Munton from the University of Technology Sydney said no food delivery worker had successfully claimed workers’ compensation for death in Australia, but it could be possible. Munton added that the claim to be successful in New South Wales, Dede’s lawyers would have to establish that he could be covered by section 5 and schedule 1, clause 2 of the NSW Workers Compensation Act.