Workers’ compensation death benefits in Alabama

Most Alabama workers know that if they suffer a serious on-the-job injury, they can seek workers’ compensation benefits to pay for their medical care. This applies to all manner of job-related injuries caused by accidents, repetitive use, chemical exposure and more. It also applies to work-caused diseases. What many workers don’t realize, however, is that if they suffer a job-related death, their family members may also be entitled to death benefits.

Workers’ compensation death benefits are meant to assist families financially during the difficult period following the loss of a loved one who was also contributing financially to the family. During this difficult time, close family members will be struggling emotionally to come to grips with their loved one’s death. Financial struggles will be the last thing on their minds, but losing the salary of a spouse can create serious survival challenges that extend far beyond emotional suffering.

If successfully navigated, a workers’ compensation death claim will pay 50 percent of a deceased worker’s wages to a family in which the worker had one dependent. It will pay 66.66 percent to a family in which the worker had two dependents or more. In the event of a worker who did not have any dependents, the employer is responsible to pay $7,500 into the worker’s estate.

Did you lose a close family member in an Alabama accident? You may be able to file a claim for death benefits. At Johnston Moore & Thompson, a Huntsville workers’ compensation law firm, we can help you organize your death benefits claim in a way that appropriately addresses all the important issues relating to your loved one’s death, and your family’s financial needs.