The following are the procedures that a Virginia surviving family must complete in order to receive death payments through workers’ compensation:
- You must first prove that the worker who passed away was eligible for workers’ compensation. It would be easy to prove that your family is entitled to death benefits if the worker was getting workers’ compensation payments for an accident or illness that was later confirmed to be the cause of death. When a worker dies on the job in Virginia, and there is no evidence to suggest that the death was not work-related, worker’s compensation legislation creates a statutory presumption that the worker’s death is compensable. Statutory presumptions apply under the law for particular groups of workers who die from particular diseases.
- Copies of your loved one’s medical records from the time of their fatal accident or illness should also be gathered in case it is necessary to prove that an on-the-job injury or occupational disease was the direct cause of death.
- You should also retain copies of your loved one’s pay stubs or income records and any bills or invoices incurred in connection with their funeral and burial.
- If your loved one has passed away on the job, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation death benefits. To begin the process of claiming these benefits, it is important to speak with an attorney as soon as possible.
Discuss your possibilities with injured on the job attorney Virginia.
If a worker dies on the job in Virginia, whose family gets the death benefits?
Workers’ compensation law in Virginia prioritizes a surviving spouse and fully dependent children (defined as those under the age of 23 who are enrolled in a full-time educational program or who are physically or mentally incapacitated) when determining who will receive death benefits in a workers’ compensation claim.
Workers’ compensation death benefits can be paid to a worker’s parents if they are destitute or to any surviving family members who were wholly dependent on the worker at the time of the worker’s death, even if the worker had no surviving spouse or dependent children.
Last but not least, if a worker leaves behind no full dependents, payments might still be distributed to any surviving family members or others who were partially reliant on the worker at the time of death.
