Compensation Death Benefit
If you have recently lost a loved one in a work-related incident, we understand this is a painful time for you. Our deepest sympathies to you and your family.
The pain of losing a loved one is unbearable. But when you lose a loved one in a workplace accident, there is hurt and anger, coupled with your sadness and grief. Picking up after the unexpected demise of a loved one can seem impossible. Perhaps you depended immensely on your loved one who has passed on – both emotionally and financially. While the emotional loss is irreplaceable, there are certain compensations that you are entitled to. Your loved one was eligible for the workers’ compensation death benefit – a compensation that they wanted you to benefit in case of their untimely demise. This compensation cannot make up for the loss of your loved one, but we hope it will help relieve you of your financial burdens.
What is workers’ compensation death benefit?
Workers’ compensation death benefit is the monetary benefit that the family of an employee receives in the event of that employee’s death from a work-related accident or illness. The money can pay for a proper funeral and also for financial support to the family. Different states have different workers’ compensation policies, but a personal injury attorney will be able to ensure you get what is due to you.
Workers’ compensation burial expense benefit is a benefit that is required to be paid out by the workers’ compensation insurance company. The maximum burial benefit is presently set at $10,000.
What does workers’ compensation death benefit cover?
The workers’ compensation death benefit includes coverage for burial expenses and also a periodic payment (usually biweekly), which will be paid at the total temporary disability rate.
The amount received will depend on the number of the total dependents and partial dependents of the deceased.
Who qualifies for workers’ compensation death benefits?
Those who were completely financially dependent on the worker until their death receives this compensation. The spouse and children of the deceased automatically fall under the category of “total dependents.”
- Children below 18 years of age.
- Mentally or physically incapacitated children of any age who cannot earn a living.
- A spouse who earned equal to or less than $30,000 in the year before the passing away of the worker.
Parents, stepparents, in-laws, stepchildren, cohabitating partners, and unrelated people who lived in the same household as the deceased would fall under the category of ‘partial dependents,’ and would qualify for death benefits if there are no or only one total dependent.
Workers’ compensation death benefits for minors
The minor children of the deceased will receive regular weekly payments until they turn 18. The amount each child gets will depend on the number of minor children.
Minor children who are mentally or physically incapacitated will continue to receive payments even after they turn 18 and until the time they recover or till death.
The time limit for collecting death benefits
Unfortunately, there is a time limit to collecting death benefits. For this reason, we urge you to consider collecting what is due to you even at this painful time. You, as a dependent, have a year from the date of your loved one’s death to claim these benefits.
If your loved one’s death occurred more than a year after a work-related injury, you have a year from the time of their death or a year from the last benefit payment to claim death benefits. No claim can be made after 240 weeks from the date of the injury.
A final word
There are several factors that must be taken into consideration when filing for these benefits – the state you live in, how dependent you were on your loved one for financial support, whether you have a job, the number of children involved, and several other factors. Most often, families are not aware of these benefits or how much money they are entitled to.
This is a time of grieving for you, and you shouldn’t have to be bogged down by formalities such as these. A reliable personal injury attorney can help you get through all the paperwork and filing process. They can also ensure you get complete compensation as quickly as possible.
Once again, we understand that this compensation death benefit can only make up for some of the financial burdens you are forced to take on. But your loved one wanted you to be taken care of, and this is their way of helping you.
