A job should help someone pay their bills and support their family, but sometimes it has the opposite effect. When a worker develops a serious medical condition, like cancer, because of their job or they suffer a severe injury while at work, they may no longer be able to work.
Some people require time off to heal, while others may need to permanently stop working or change jobs. Others can not work anymore because they die. Given how high the risk for injury or death is in certain industries, like construction or professional fishing, people would likely refuse those jobs if there were no protections from workplace injuries.
Job risks are why workers’ compensation exists
Workers in Georgia can perform even the most dangerous jobs with confidence because workers’ compensation insurance protects them. If someone gets hurt at work, they can count on workers’ compensation to pay their medical bills and replace a portion of their income until they can get back to work.
Workers’ compensation also protects the dependent family members of employees by offering death benefits. If someone sufferers a fatal injury on the job or develops a terminal medical condition because of their employment, their dependent family members might have grounds for a workers’ compensation claim.
What does workers’ compensation offer when someone dies?
Death benefits cover expenses and lost wages. Those benefits include up to $7,500 in funeral expense reimbursement and up to $675 in weekly indemnity benefits for the loss of their wages.
Those indemnity or lost wage benefits won’t fully replace what someone previously made. Family members may not receive that maximum amount because they can only receive at most two-thirds of someone’s average weekly wage. Family members could also rely on workers’ compensation to cover the medical care that their loved one received before dying.
Who can receive death benefits?
Only dependent family members have the right to claim death benefits through workers’ compensation in Georgia. Spouses, children and sometimes parents are among those with the right to make a claim. Learning how workers’ compensation protects employees and their families can help those dealing with the consequences of a work accident.