Workers’ Comp Death Benefits in Pennsylvania

Compensation for a Work-Related Death in Pennsylvania

If a family member was killed in a workplace accident, you may be entitled to death benefits through workers’ compensation. But you may also be entitled to file a wrongful death lawsuit against parties other than the victim’s employer, such as the manufacturer or installer of defective equipment that caused the injury.

Martin Law invites you to a free consultation to explore your possible claims. Our experienced lawyers have helped families throughout the Philadelphia area and southeast Pennsylvania secure benefits and damages to replace a loved one’s lost income.

Fatal Workplace Accidents

We have handled fatalities in a wide range of occupations, from construction workers and factory workers to firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty. We are familiar with every manner of work-related accident resulting in death: machinery mishaps, heavy equipment accidents, vehicle crashes, falls, electrocution and explosions.

Deaths Tracing to a Work Injury

Workers’ compensation also pays benefits to survivors when a work-related accident, injury or illness leads to death in the days, weeks, months or even years that follow the accident. This includes complications of injuries (like infection, organ failure, aneurysm, stroke, pneumonia) and occupational disease claims (toxic exposures leading to cancer, heart failure or lung failure).

Employers and insurance companies often challenge these claims. Our attorneys are skilled at proving the connection between a work injury and later death.

Death Benefits and Wrongful Death Claims

Dependents of the deceased such as the spouse and minor children are entitled to workers’ comp death benefits, but these pay only a fraction of the deceased worker’s wages.

We will explore any potential wrongful death lawsuits against possible third parties. This could include manufacturers of dangerous workplace equipment, motorists who caused a fatal crash, construction site subcontractors who were negligent, or property owners responsible for a safety hazard that killed your loved one. Although we don’t handle these cases, because we exclusively handle workers’ compensation and Social Security Disability cases, we can refer you to the best attorneys to handle your type of case.

Contact us toll free at 215.392.7252 to discuss your death benefits and any wrongful death claims that might provide additional monetary damages above and beyond workers’ comp.

Dependency Claims

If an employee is killed at work or later dies from the aftermath of a workplace accident, family members may be entitled to workers’ compensation death benefits to help replace the deceased worker’s income.

But employers may contest whether the death is really connected to a workplace accident, injury or illness.

That’s where Martin Law comes in. Our renowned attorneys have decades of experience in workers’ compensation law, including death benefit cases:

• Ensuring that scheduled benefits are correctly calculated
• Negotiating a lump sum settlement
• Representing beneficiaries in contested hearings and appeals

Who is Eligible for Death and Dependency Claims in Pennsylvania?

Eligible beneficiaries of death benefits are relatives of the deceased worker: a spouse, minor children, a dependent adult child or parent.

The employee must have died of a job injury or occupational illness within 300 weeks of the date of the accident or the date of the last exposure to a health hazard on the job.

Death benefits include (a) up to $3,000 for funeral expenses and (b) weekly payments based on a percentage of what the deceased would have received for total disability. The widow or widower can collect benefits until remarriage (or their own death). Each child also receives death benefits until age 18, or until age 23 if enrolled full time at an accredited school.

Causally Related Deaths

When a worker is killed instantly or dies shortly after, there is often little to dispute. Death benefits are paid even if the employee’s own actions contributed to the death.

Our lawyers are often called in to prove a causal connection when a death occurs months – or years – after the original work injury. For example, if a workplace injury requires surgery, and the person later dies from an infection or blood clot, the employers’ insurer will likely contest the death claim. We have a network of qualified experts who can review the records and reports to testify that the death was work-related.

If you lost your loved one, contact us today for a free consultation about your worker’s comp benefits. We represent families across the Philadelphia metro area and southeast Pennsylvania, with several office locations.