Georgia Workers’ Compensation Death Benefits

Before negotiating a settlement in a workers’ compensation death claim, it is necessary to identify all the potential dependents of the decedent (the person who has died). In doing so, an attorney must ask the following questions:

1. What was the marital status of the decedent at the time of death?
2. Did the decedent have any children as defined by the Act?
3. Who are the decedent’s potential dependents?

Anyone who is considered a worker’s dependent—a person who relied on the worker for financial support—is eligible to receive death benefits. The state of Georgia recognizes two types of dependents or beneficiaries, primary and secondary.

Primary beneficiaries

A “primary beneficiary” is considered a total dependent of the person who died and as such, they are entitled to recover all of the weekly dependency benefits under Georgia workers’ compensation law.

Primary beneficiaries can include just two groups of people:

• Spouse. A surviving husband or wife may obtain workers’ comp death benefits under Georgia law. The only exception is if the spouses were living separately for a period of 90 days immediately prior to the accident which resulted in the death of the deceased employee.
• Child/children. According to the Act, a “child” includes biological children, dependent stepchildren, legally adopted children, posthumous children, and acknowledged children born out of wedlock. However, it does not include married children, even those who are under 18 years of age. Thus, the parent/child relationship is not limited by biology.

Secondary beneficiaries

A secondary beneficiary is any dependent who isn’t a child or spouse of the deceased employee. They don’t have to have a biological connection to the deceased employee. Secondary beneficiaries are entitled to total or partial recovery only if a primary beneficiary waives their rights to benefits or when there are no primary beneficiaries.

Secondary beneficiaries can include:

• Family members (mother, father, grandchild, or grandparent)
• Friends

A person will only be considered a secondary beneficiary if it can be proven that he or she was wholly or partially dependent on the decedent at the time of the accident, and any such dependency must have existed for a period of at least three months prior to the decedent’s fatal accident.

Georgia has a cap on compensation for maximum weekly dependency. This cap varies depending on the date of injury.

If there is just one primary beneficiary, then that person will receive the full compensation. If there is more than one primary or secondary beneficiary, then payment will be split as determined by the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation. In cases where there is a surviving spouse and a surviving child or children, the entire benefit is typically paid to the spouse for the benefit of themselves and the children.

A surviving spouse who is the sole beneficiary of the deceased worker may not receive more than $230,000 in total benefits under Georgia law. The maximum number of payments for death benefits is 400 weeks from the date of the fatality, or until the recipient is no longer eligible.

A surviving spouse can receive weekly payments until age 65 or the maximum allowed 400 weeks, whichever is longer. If the surviving spouse remarries or cohabitates with a partner, they will no longer be eligible for benefits.