Determining "Dependency" for Workers' Compensation Death Benefits

The issue of "dependency," with respect to the receipt of workers' compensation death benefits, is generally determined either as of the date of the worker's death or the date of the accident that caused his death. Those individuals who are, therefore, "dependents" on the requisite date will be eligible to receive death benefits in an amount commensurate with the measure of dependency on the worker, i.e. total or partial dependency.

Supplemental Security Income and Homeless Individuals

The "homeless" status of an individual does not affect his eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Homeless individuals have the same right to apply for SSI benefits as anyone else. To obtain his benefits, a homeless individual may pick up his payments at a local Social Security office, have the payments mailed to a third party, have the funds automatically deposited into a personal bank account, or have the payments sent to a representative payee who will act in the individual's best interests.

Distribution of Proceeds From Third Party Action

Once a third party action has concluded and a recovery achieved for an employee's injury, the matter of distribution arises. As a first priority, the general rule is that the party who paid the employee compensation (most likely the employer or its carrier) will be reimbursed in an amount equivalent to its compensation outlay. The employee will then be entitled to any excess funds that remain. Some states vary this by mandating that only a portion of the excess be turned over to the employee.

Employee's Failure to Obey Safety Rules as Statutory Defense

When an employee claims workers' compensation benefits are due to him based on an injury that occurred on the job, many states allow an employer to defend itself by presenting evidence that the employee wilfully disobeyed the employer's prescribed safety rules or purposefully neglected to use a safety device. Although in rare cases the defense represents a complete bar to the employee's recovery of benefits, usually the employee's recovery is just subject to a reduction.

Degrees of Disability and Corresponding Benefits

Temporary Disability