Death Benefits
THE FACTS
- If your spouse dies following a work injury, you may be entitled to a lump sum representing 2 years of weekly wage benefits.
- Your children may also be eligible for a lump sum payment.
- You and your dependants may be eligible for burial expenses of up to $7,500.
THE DETAILS
If an employee dies as a result of a work related illness or injury, the amount of a death benefit payment will depend upon the relationship to the deceased worker. If you were to die within 300 weeks of the date you suffered the work-related injury or contracted the disease, your spouse is entitled to receive death benefits that vary as well, depending on the number of your dependent children, if any.
A spouse who remarries is entitled to receive a lump sum payment equal to two years of compensation payments, after which all compensation ceases. If your children are full-time students at an accredited school, they are entitled to receive benefits until they reach the age of twenty-three years, as long as they remain enrolled.
Your dependents can also receive burial expenses up to $7,500 and two-thirds of your average weekly wage, or a maximum of $550.00 per week. Your dependents are defined by Georgia law as your surviving spouse, children or step-children. A widowed spouse with no children is limited to a total amount of $125,000.00 unless they remarry or openly cohabitate with another person of the opposite sex.