The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act provides that if a work injury or illness results in death, all work-related benefits are paid to the dependent survivors. This applies whether your death is the result of a workplace accident, a complication from an injury, such as infection or organ failure, or an occupational disease. However, if the death is intentionally self-inflicted or is caused by the worker’s violation of the law, such as the illegal use of drugs, the benefits will not be paid. Other exclusions may apply.
Workers’ compensation death benefits are paid by the private insurance company who insures your employer, or by your employer if it is self-insured.
To collect Pennsylvania workers’ compensation death benefits, you need to file a fatal claim petition. If you need help filing your claim or have specific questions about your claim, call the Philadelphia workers’ compensation lawyers at Pearson Koutcher Law.
The Philadelphia workers’ compensation lawyers at Pearson Koutcher Law have helped many families collect the death benefits they deserve. We are here for you!
Pearson Koutcher Law partner Jonathan Koutcher settled the Workers’ Compensation case of a Florida widow whose husband was killed in a work accident in Pennsylvania. In an interesting set of facts, Mr. Koutcher represented the widow of a tractor-trailer driver who was killed when his tractor-trailer hit an icy surface on a highway in Pennsylvania. At the time of the accident, the widow was separated from her husband. The law in Pennsylvania allows a widow (or widower) to receive Workers’ Compensation death claim benefits if separated at the time of the accident if the widow was actually dependent upon the decedent and received a substantial amount of support from the decedent. Mr. Koutcher presented the testimony of the widow and presented forensic bank statement analysis showing transactions between the decedent and widower from the time of their separation until the work accident causing his death. The settlement was the equivalent of ten (10) years of fatal claim benefits in a lump sum for the widow.
A widower represented by Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation attorney Jonathan Koutcher, of Pearson Koutcher Law, settled a fatal claim for the lump sum amount of $215,000. The injured worker tragically passed away after her work-related orthopedic injury was not properly treated leading to her death. Mr. Koutcher was successful in the underlying fatal claim litigation and then was able to negotiate a substantial settlement for the widower after attending a Voluntary Mediation.
A widow who lived near Scranton, Pennsylvania settled the fatal claim of her husband for $200,000. The case also involved a third-party lawsuit that settled for seven figures (confidential amount), and as a result of a future credit against ongoing death benefits, the amount of the widow’s benefits would have been reduced drastically. Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation attorney Jonathan Koutcher, of Pearson Koutcher Law, negotiated a resolution of the widow’s death benefits. More importantly, this allowed the widow to move on with her life and not have to risk her benefits stopping as a result of a relationship resulting in dependency.