Does California Workers’ Compensation Provide a Death Benefit?
California recognizes the financial hardship a worker’s death can bring and offers payments to cover funeral expenses and lost wages.
Thousands of workers die every year in work-related fatalities. About 20% of deaths in private industry happen in construction, but that leaves thousands more killed in office buildings, factory floors, work-time traffic accidents, and more. California workers’ compensation law provides benefits to surviving family members, including money to cover funeral expenses and a significant sum in wage replacement.
The deceased worker’s surviving spouse and children are the primary beneficiaries of the workers’ comp death benefit, along with other family members who depended on the employee for the basic necessities of living such as food and clothing. Benefits include $10,000 for funeral expenses, plus a weekly amount for wage loss. The amount of the wage loss benefit is the total temporary disability rate, which is calculated as two-thirds of the deceased employee’s wages, but not less than $224 per week.
Benefits are paid until they reach the maximum amount described below, depending on the number of dependents the employee had:
- One total dependent – $250,000
- Two total dependents – $290,000
- Three or more total dependents – $320,000
- One total dependent and one or more partial dependents – $250,000 plus four times the annual support amount for partial dependents up to $290,000
- One or more partial dependents – Eight times the annual support paid up to $250,000
Minor children who were total dependents of the deceased worker will continue to receive death benefits until they turn 18, even if the total amount exceeds the caps described above. Disabled minors will continue to receive benefits for life.
Timeframe to apply for death benefits
To be eligible to receive death benefits, the beneficiary should apply within one year from the date of death if the death occurred within one year of the work injury. If the death occurred more than one year from the injury, the beneficiary has until either one year from the date of death or one year from the date benefits were last paid to the worker. In any event, proceedings to collect death benefits cannot start more than 240 weeks from the date of the injury.
Depending on how the death occurred (accident versus occupational illness or disease) and when it occurred (instantly or a year or more from the date of injury), the employer and their workers’ compensation insurance carrier might dispute that the death was work-related and deny the claim for benefits. If this happens, a workers’ compensation attorney will know the proper steps to appeal the denial and help surviving family members get the benefits they are entitled to from California workers’ compensation.
