Workers’ compensation provides benefits to individuals who have been injured or killed while on the job. It can be challenging to navigate deceased worker’s benefits without legal support. Employers do their best to prevent paying a weekly wage to an injured worker. They may try to deny the claim or attempt to blame the employee for the injury or death.

If your loved one died while working, you have legal rights. Read on to learn more about workers’ compensation death benefits, who is eligible, and how they’re calculated. 

A Chicago workers’ comp attorney from Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers can help you understand your legal rights and seek compensation for the preventable death of your loved one.

Workers compensation death benefits

Types of Death Benefits for a Deceased Worker

Death benefits are a type of workers’ compensation benefit available to the families of deceased employees. They can include coverage for burial expenses, dependency benefits, and more. Survivor benefits may consist of a lump sum or weekly payments to compensate for the financial hardship the fatal injury caused.

Burial Expenses

Funerals typically cost thousands of dollars, depending on where you live. Many cannot afford that added cost, especially if your loved one’s death occurs unexpectedly.

Workers’ comp death benefits can cover funeral and burial expenses. Your loved one’s policy may include a maximum death claim benefit. The state typically determines this, but you must check their policy for specifics. The amount can vary. Some families will receive a portion of the state average weekly wage instead of a lump sum to cover burial expenses.

Dependency Benefits

If your loved one died while at work or due to a work-related injury or illness, you may be able to recover a portion of their salary under their workers’ compensation death benefits. You may need support to claim these benefits. Workers’ compensation attorneys can help you navigate your options. 

There are different types of dependency benefits available. They include: 

  • Weekly cash payment: This payment is typically two-thirds of their salary for the previous 52 weeks. It is often paid in a monthly lump sum, and the sum may decrease depending on the number of dependents.
  • Maximum amount: Some policies pay out only for a specific amount of time or money. For example, Illinois death benefits will only be paid for 25 years or up to $500,000, whichever is the more significant option. Check your state regulations for your workers’ compensation and maximum death benefits. 
  • Minor children: Dependent children will receive benefits until they are 18 or 25 if they are students. If the surviving spouse remarries, they will continue to receive benefits until the children come of age. 
  • Surviving spouse: The surviving spouse may lose benefits if they remarry. If no minor children are involved, they can receive a lump sum to settle the death benefits.

Dependency benefits are only available for eligible dependents, including surviving spouses, children, and other legal dependents. Partial dependents and non-dependent parents may not be eligible to receive benefits after a death occurs due to a work-related injury or illness.

Death Benefits for the Deceased

If the employee dies without eligible dependents, their benefits may go to their estate. The amount awarded to the estate may vary by state. Select states cap the death benefits that can go to the estate. 

Potential parties who can claim these estate death benefits include:

  • Dependent parents
  • Most spouses
  • Children who are a full-time student
  • Individuals who were dependent on the deceased at least half of the time. 

These scenarios can be less clear-cut than eligible dependents, so you may choose to engage with legal representation. A workers’ compensation attorney can help you navigate your options if the benefits are being awarded to the deceased employee’s estate. 

Eligibility for Death Benefits

Workers’ compensation has various criteria to determine eligibility for death benefits. They include the following.

Work-Related Death

The death must be directly related to the employee’s job. Examples of this can include:

  • Fatal accidents while on the job: This can include slips and falls or crush injuries. 
  • Accidents outside the workplace that happened when the employee was performing work-related activities: For example, a driver may get into a fatal accident while transporting goods and services. 
  • Deaths from dangerous working conditions: An employee could fall from high distances while performing their job. 
  • Illness developed due to hazardous working conditions: Repeated exposure to dangerous chemicals can cause diseases. 
  • Delayed deaths due to work-related diseases or injuries: You can develop long-term health conditions that will eventually kill you. 

The death had to be directly related to the job to qualify for death benefits. If a person dies in other circumstances, workers’ compensation benefits will not apply. 

Dependency Status

To be paid dependency death benefits, you must meet the dependency status criteria for surviving family members. This includes:

  • Surviving spouse: A surviving spouse may lose death benefits if they remarry. If they have children, they will receive benefits until the child is of age but will not be paid their spouse benefits.
  • Children: Children will receive death benefits until they are 18 or 25 if they are still in school. 
  • Surviving parents: If there are no other dependents, the deceased worker’s surviving parents may get the death benefits. 

Typically, the dependents must be blood-related, related by marriage, or financially dependent on the deceased worker to be entitled to a payment. An attorney can help you navigate eligibility questions. 

If there are no eligible dependents, the benefits will default to the person’s estate. In some cases, this can lead to costly legal battles without a will.

Notice of Death

You must promptly notify the employer of the employee’s death. They will open an investigation to determine if the death was caused by a work accident. Failure to promptly notify the employer can cause a delay in the administration of benefits.

You may need to provide documentation to the employer to prove the death, including:

  • Medical records
  • Death certificate
  • Video recordings
  • Written communications

OSHA also requires they be notified of a death in the workplace. They may conduct their investigation to make sure unsafe working conditions did not cause the death. 

Some employers will try to deny claims, so contacting a workers’ compensation lawyer may be worth it. They will provide legal representation and help you get the death benefits you or your child are entitled to. 

Calculating Death Benefits

There are different ways to calculate death benefits. They vary by state, but typically, you can expect the following. 

Average Weekly Wage

Death benefits do not include an employee’s total salary. It is only a portion of your loved one’s salary, and the average weekly wage is calculated as follows.

  • Determine the average weekly wage based on the previous 52-week period. 
  • Divide it by two-thirds to find the total amount. 

Eligible dependents will be paid monthly payments based on the average weekly wage. Some states set minimum amounts, while others rely solely on the average weekly wage. How much you are paid should not change over time.

Dependency Factors

Dependants can affect the amount of death benefits a deceased worker’s family may be able to receive. This can include:

  • The number of dependents: The more you have, the more death benefits you can claim. The sum you receive may be spread out over individual payments. Individuals may receive smaller checks but add up to more if spread across several checks. 
  • Age: A minor child can claim benefits only until they turn 18 or 25 if they are still in school. This age may be different across states.
  • Marriage status: If the surviving spouse remarries, they may no longer receive your death benefit. They may elect for a final lump sum of two years’ compensation. This does not apply if there are minor children involved. 

Ultimately, death benefits are intended to help the family fill the deceased employee’s life void. However, these benefits are not permanent. They will expire over time. 

Maximum Death Benefit

Each state handles its worker’s compensation cases differently. They set specific amounts for the maximum death benefits your loved ones may be able to claim on behalf of the deceased employee. They include:

  • Burial: They will pay a maximum amount for funeral expenses, including visitation and burial expenses. 
  • Time: Some will cap the death benefits after a certain amount of time has passed from the worker’s death.
  • Amount: Some workers’ compensation policies cap the total money you can be paid as death benefits.

Because the regulations vary from state to state, consulting with a workers’ compensation attorney is essential to help you understand your rights and how to retain your loved one’s death benefits. 

Secure Expert Legal Representation!

There is nothing that can fill the hole that your loved one’s death left in your life, and that’s especially true if the death was preventable. If you lost someone to a workplace accident, you can get justice for their unnecessary death.

A Chicago personal injury attorney from Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers will listen with compassion as you share the details surrounding your loved one’s death and offer legal recommendations to help you recover compensation and maximize your eligible death benefits.

We have helped hundreds of clients with their workplace compensation claims, recovering more than $450 million in settlements. Contact us at (888) 424-5757 or complete our online contact form.