What workers' comp death benefits are
Workers' comp death benefits are weekly payments to the family of a worker who died from a job injury or a work-caused illness, plus a separate allowance for the funeral. Every state has them. If the death was work-related, the benefits are owed whether or not anyone was at fault.
Two things are true in every state. First, the benefit goes to dependents — the people the worker supported — not automatically to the estate or next of kin. Second, the amount is a percentage of the worker's own wages, usually paid weekly. Everything else — the percentage, how long it lasts, what remarriage changes, the burial figure — varies widely by state. This article walks through each piece in the order families usually meet it, with a state table for the numbers.
One reassurance before the details. Filing a death claim does not require suing anyone, blaming anyone, or going to court in most cases. It is a claim on an insurance policy your loved one's work already paid for.
The four questions that decide everything
Almost every death claim comes down to four questions. Answer them for your state and you know roughly what your family will receive.
Hold these four questions as you read. At the state table, your own row will carry your own answer.
Who counts as a dependent
A dependent is someone the worker was supporting financially when they died. States split dependents into two groups: those presumed dependent, who do not have to prove anything, and those who can qualify by proving actual support.
The presumed group is nearly always the surviving spouse and the minor children. New Jersey's statute says it directly: a surviving spouse and natural children who were part of the worker's household at the time of death are conclusively presumed to be dependents. Ohio presumes the spouse who was living with the worker, and children under 18 — or under 25 as full-time students, with no age limit for a child who cannot earn a living. Georgia presumes the spouse, unless the couple had lived apart for the 90 days before the accident, and children under 18 or still in high school, under 22 as full-time postsecondary students, or any age if incapable of earning a livelihood.
Beyond spouse and children, the circle widens by proof. Texas lists dependent grandchildren and other dependent family members — parents, stepparents, siblings, grandparents — with non-dependent parents eligible in limited circumstances for 104 weeks. New Jersey lets parents, grandparents, and siblings qualify by showing actual support. Washington pays a dependent who is not a spouse or child 50% of the average monthly support they actually received from the worker.
Partial dependents are people the worker helped support, but who had income of their own. Many states pay them a share sized to the support they actually received: Georgia pays in proportion to the worker's average weekly contribution to them, and Virginia pays partial dependents only if there are no total dependents, for 400 weeks rather than 500. If you relied on the worker for part of your living, you may have a claim even if you were not their spouse or child.
What about an unmarried partner? Death benefits generally require a legal spouse or proof of actual dependency. The dependency-by-proof route can sometimes reach a partner who was genuinely supported as part of the household, but no state we could verify treats an unmarried partner as a spouse. If this is your situation, talking to a lawyer early genuinely matters.
If there are no dependents at all, some states pay a fixed sum instead: Tennessee, $20,000 to the estate; New York, $50,000 to the surviving parents or the estate. The burial allowance is owed regardless — in Texas it goes to whoever actually paid the funeral, family or not.
What it pays: the state table
The weekly benefit is a percentage of what the worker earned — their average weekly wage, or AWW. Two-thirds is the most common figure, but it is not universal: Texas pays 75%, Michigan 80% of the after-tax wage, New Jersey 70%, and a Florida spouse with no children 50%. Every state also applies a weekly maximum, usually tied to the statewide average wage, so higher earners' checks are capped below the stated percentage. Each state name links to that state's full guide.
| State | Weekly rate (% of worker's wage) | How long a spouse is paid | Burial allowance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 75% of the AWW, capped at the state average weekly wage | Lifetime, unless remarriage (then a 2-year lump sum; a first responder's spouse keeps lifetime benefits even after remarrying) | $10,000 |
| Florida | Spouse alone 50%; spouse plus children 66 2/3% combined; children alone 33 1/3% each | Until the spouse's death — but total benefits are capped at $150,000 | Up to $7,500 actual expenses |
| New York | 66 2/3% of the AWW, capped at the maximum for the injury date | Weekly benefits to the spouse, minor children, and other dependents; with no dependents, $50,000 to parents or the estate | $12,500 in the NYC-area counties; $10,500 elsewhere |
| Illinois | 2/3 of the AWW within a state minimum and maximum, reset twice yearly from the statewide wage | Life of the spouse or until the youngest child turns 18 (25 if a student), whichever is later — overall, 25 years or $500,000, whichever is greater | $8,000 |
| Georgia | 2/3 of the AWW at the total-disability rate | To age 65 or 400 weeks, whichever pays more; a sole-dependent spouse's total is capped at $320,000 | $7,500 |
| Ohio | 66 2/3% of the AWW, with min/max tied to the statewide average wage | Until the spouse's death or remarriage; on remarriage, a lump sum of two years of benefits | $7,500 |
| Pennsylvania | Spouse alone 51%; with one child 60%; with two or more 66 2/3% — all capped at the statewide average wage | During widowhood | $7,000 |
| North Carolina | 66 2/3% of the AWW | 500 weeks from the death; a spouse disabled from self-support is paid for life or until remarriage | $10,000 |
| New Jersey | 70% of the worker's weekly wage, up to the annual maximum | While dependency continues; children to 18, or 23 as students, longer if disabled | $3,500 |
| Michigan | 80% of the after-tax average weekly wage | 500 weeks from the death; extendable for a dependent still under 21 at week 500 | $6,000 or actual cost, whichever is less |
| Virginia | 66 2/3% of the AWW (max 100% of the state average wage, min 25%) | 500 weeks from the injury date for total dependents; 400 weeks for partial dependents | $15,000 plus $1,000 transportation, both inflation-adjusted from 2028 |
| Tennessee | 66 2/3% of the AWW for the spouse and dependent children; with no dependents, $20,000 to the estate | By statutory category | $10,000 |
| Massachusetts | 66 2/3% of the AWW, plus $6/week per child | While the spouse remains unmarried, up to 250 times the state average weekly wage, with COLAs; children paid to 18 regardless | 8 times the state average weekly wage |
| Washington | Monthly pension: spouse 60% of wages plus 2% per child up to five; no spouse: 35% for the first child, up to 65% total | Pension until the spouse's death or remarriage; children to 18, or 23 as full-time students | Up to 200% of the state average monthly wage, plus an immediate one-time payment of 100% of it |
| Arizona | Spouse alone 66 2/3% of the average monthly wage; spouse plus children: 35% to the spouse, 31 2/3% divided among the children | Until death or remarriage, with a 2-year lump sum on remarriage; children to 18, or 22 as students | See footnote |
| Colorado | 66 2/3% of the AWW, capped at 91% of the state average weekly wage; benefits are reduced by 50% of any Social Security survivor benefits | While dependency continues | At least the $12,500 statutory base, adjusted annually |
| California | Paid at the temporary-disability rate, not less than $224/week | Total capped by dependent count: $250,000 (one), $290,000 (two), $320,000 (three or more); children paid until the youngest turns 18, disabled children for life | $10,000 |
Footnotes, honestly stated. Arizona's burial figure was under active legislation in 2026; check the Industrial Commission of Arizona for the current amount. Colorado's funeral figure is adjusted every year; the statutory base is $12,500 and the state publishes the current figure. Texas and Illinois maximum weekly rates change on a schedule — Illinois posts new figures each January 15 and July 15 — so confirm the current cap with the agency listed in your state's guide.
How the average weekly wage itself is calculated — overtime, second jobs, what counts — works the same as for injury benefits: see how much workers' comp pays. Auditing that one number is worth doing, because every weekly check for years is built on it.
Workers' comp death benefits are not federally taxable, and the exemption applies to survivors. The IRS lists workers' compensation paid under a workers' compensation act as nontaxable in Publication 907. The weekly figure in your state's row is what your family keeps. More on comp and taxes generally: is workers' comp taxable?
How long the payments last: three different designs
This is the single biggest difference between states, and the one competing articles most often get wrong. "Death benefits last for life" is only sometimes true. States use three designs, and the design decides what the claim is worth over time.
A few rows deserve a slower reading. Georgia pays a spouse to age 65 or for 400 weeks, whichever provides the greater benefit — with a $320,000 total cap on top for a spouse who is the sole dependent. Understand both limits before agreeing to any settlement. North Carolina's 500 weeks has a humane exception: a spouse who cannot support themself because of a physical or mental disability is paid for life, or until remarriage. Michigan's 500 weeks can be extended by a magistrate for a child still under 21 when the weeks run out. Illinois promises 25 years or $500,000, whichever is greater — one of the most generous floors in the country.
Children have their own clocks. Most states pay children to 18, extended for full-time students — to 25 in Texas, Ohio and Illinois, 23 in New Jersey and Washington, 22 in Georgia and Arizona — and for life where a child's disability prevents self-support.
The burial allowance
Every state pays a separate allowance toward the funeral, on top of the weekly benefits. It is a reimbursement with a cap, not a flat grant — Florida's statute says actual funeral expenses not to exceed $7,500, and Michigan pays $6,000 or the actual cost, whichever is less. The verified spread runs from $3,500 in New Jersey to $15,000 plus a $1,000 transportation allowance in Virginia — more than fourfold, which is why "the burial benefit is about $X" answers you may have read are wrong for most states.
Washington structures it differently: burial costs up to 200% of the state's average monthly wage, plus a separate immediate payment of 100% of that wage to help with the first weeks. New York's figure depends on the county — $12,500 in the New York City area counties, $10,500 elsewhere.
Practical notes. Keep the itemized funeral bill and every receipt; the allowance is paid against documented expenses. In Texas, the reimbursement goes to whoever actually paid the funeral — a sibling or friend who stepped in can claim it — and the request must be made within 12 months of the death. If money for the funeral is the immediate crisis, tell the carrier the burial claim is the urgent one; it can usually be processed separately.
Deadlines — and the time-window rule in four states
This section holds the two hardest facts on the page — stated plainly, because you deserve accuracy, and gently, because of when you are reading them.
First, the filing deadline. A death claim has its own clock, separate from any injury claim that was already open, and it usually runs from the date of death, not the injury. Verified examples: Texas requires the beneficiary claim (DWC Form-042) within one year of the death. New York requires death claims within two years of the death. The exact number matters — find yours in your state's guide or run it through the deadline checker. If the worker's injury claim was already accepted, file the death claim anyway. It is a new claim, not a continuation.
Second, the time-window rule. Four states pay death benefits only if the death followed the injury within a set period:
In plain terms: Florida pays if death resulted from the accident within one year, or within five years where the worker was continuously disabled from it. Pennsylvania pays when death results from the injury within 300 weeks — about five years and nine months. North Carolina requires death within six years of the injury, or within two years of the final determination of disability, whichever is later. Virginia's statute pays if death results from the accident within nine years. Do not assume this rule applies elsewhere — and do not assume it bars your claim without reading the exact clause. The "whichever is later" and continuous-disability branches rescue many families who think they missed it.
A death from a work injury years later — a complication, a failed surgery, an occupational disease that finally took hold — can still be compensable in most states. The questions become medical causation and, in the four window states, timing. A free consultation early is worthwhile here, because causation evidence is easier to gather now than later.
What to do about deadlines this week: one phone call or letter. Notify the employer in writing if no one has, and ask the state agency for the death-claim form. Filing it starts your protection. Everything else can wait.
How the claim actually gets filed
The process is more form-filling than courtroom. The shape of it, in most states:
The death is reported.
The employer reports a work-related death to its carrier and the state agency. If weeks have passed and you are not sure this happened, send a short written notice yourself. A sentence is enough.
The family files the claim form.
Each state has a death-claim or beneficiary form — in Texas it is DWC Form-042; New York uses Form C-62 with an affirmation (AFF-1) plus proof forms from the physician and funeral home. The agency will tell you which documents it needs.
The carrier accepts or disputes.
An accepted claim starts weekly checks and pays the burial allowance. A dispute — usually over work-relatedness or who the dependents are — goes through the state's hearing process, the same one used in denied injury claims.
Settlements get reviewed.
A parent or guardian files for minor children, and courts or the agency approve any settlement involving minors. Tennessee requires every death-claim settlement to be approved by its Court of Workers' Compensation Claims — oversight that protects the children's share.
Documents to gather, in your own time:
What remarriage changes
In most states a surviving spouse's benefits end at remarriage, softened by a one-time lump sum. But the size of that lump sum — and whether it exists at all — varies widely. The commonly repeated "two years' severance" answer is true in some states and costly to assume in others.
| State | What happens when the spouse remarries |
|---|---|
| Texas | Lump sum equal to 2 years of benefits — except a first responder's spouse, who keeps lifetime benefits even after remarrying |
| Ohio | Lump sum of two years of compensation at the weekly amount |
| Arizona | Two years' compensation in one sum |
| Illinois | 2-year lump sum only if no children remain entitled to benefits at the time of remarriage; with eligible children still on the claim, no lump sum |
| Washington | Lump sum of 24 monthly payments — 36 for spouses of law enforcement and firefighters — or 50% of the remaining annuity value if that is less |
| Florida | Lump sum of 26 weeks at 50% of the average weekly wage — not two years |
| Massachusetts | No lump sum — payments to the spouse terminate; each child then receives $60/week, capped at what the spouse would have received |
| Georgia | Dependency ends at remarriage — and also at cohabitation in a marriage-like relationship, even without remarrying |
Three of those rows deserve emphasis. Illinois conditions the lump sum on the children: the statute grants it only where the worker left no children still entitled to benefits at the time of remarriage. Georgia ends dependency not only at remarriage but at "cohabitation in a meretricious relationship" — living with a new partner as though married can end the benefits without any wedding. And Massachusetts pays nothing on remarriage; the checks stop, with a small children's benefit continuing. New York and Pennsylvania do not publish their remarriage mechanics where we could verify them — in those states, ask the agency or a lawyer before assuming an answer.
None of this is a reason to put your life on hold. It is a reason to know your state's rule — exactly, in writing — before the wedding, so the change is a choice made with open eyes.
Can the family also sue?
Generally, not the employer. Workers' comp runs on a trade called the exclusive remedy: the family receives death benefits without having to prove the employer did anything wrong, and in exchange gives up the right to sue the employer for wrongful death. This is the standard rule nearly everywhere, with narrow exceptions — Georgia's statute expressly contemplates a penalty where death was proximately caused by an intentional act of the employer. Intentional-harm exceptions are real but rare and hard to prove.
A third party is a different matter. If someone other than the employer contributed to the death — the maker of a defective machine, a negligent driver, a subcontractor on the site — the family can generally bring a wrongful-death case against them, and it runs alongside the comp claim rather than replacing it. Two honest caveats: the comp carrier usually has a subrogation lien, meaning it gets repaid out of the lawsuit for what it paid in benefits, and third-party cases have their own, often shorter, deadlines. The mechanics are in the third-party claims article. If any equipment, vehicle, or outside company was involved, mention it in any consultation — it is the most commonly missed source of real compensation for families.
Do you need a lawyer for this?
Often, no. If the death was clearly work-related, the carrier accepts the claim, the dependents are a spouse and children with clean paperwork, and the checks arrive at the right rate — the system is doing what it was built to do. Plenty of death claims resolve exactly this way. The state agency's claims staff answer procedural questions for free, and the glossary covers any term the forms throw at you.
Talk to a lawyer — consultations are free in this field — when one of these is true: the carrier disputes that the death was work-related; the death came long after the injury, especially in the four window states; there is any question about who the dependents are; a third party may share fault; or a settlement is on the table. Never sign a full-and-final settlement of a death claim without independent advice — you would be pricing decades of a family's support in one number. The before-you-sign guide explains why that moment deserves a second set of eyes, and the do-I-need-a-lawyer tool can help you think it through.
Five things that quietly cost families money — each preventable:
The death claim has its own clock, usually running from the date of death. File it even if the injury claim was accepted years ago.
If overtime or a second job is missing from the average weekly wage, every check for years is short. Check it against real pay stubs.
A parent the worker sent money to, a sibling they housed — many states pay proven partial dependents a proportional share. Those claims are lost because no one knew to make them.
If a machine, a vehicle, or an outside contractor played a role, a wrongful-death case may exist alongside the comp claim — with its own, often shorter, deadline.
In a lifetime or 500-week state, the weekly checks can be worth far more than an early offer. Have someone independent run the numbers before signing anything final.
Frequently asked questions
A consultation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. It helps most when the claim is disputed, a settlement is offered, or a third party may share fault. There is no urgency beyond your state's filing deadline — take the time you need.
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