The claim must be filed within 240 weeks of the date of injury, regardless of the date of death.2 The amount of death benefits payable is based on the number of dependents, their level of dependency and the date of the injury causing the death.3 The amount of the total death benefit is changed sporadically by the Legislature. A burial benefit is also payable.4

Labor Code section 4702 details the payout for death benefits. The statute indicates the current maximum payout for a death benefit resulting from a 2016 date of injury is $320,000, paid in installments in the same manner and amount as temporary disability, and a separate $10,000 maximum for burial expenses. If there are minor dependents, however, frequently the benefit will exceed the $320,000 maximum indicated in the statute as it will pay until the youngest minor child is 18.

For dependents of safety officers injured during active service, the deadline to file a claim is extended to 420 weeks of the date of injury, and within one year of the date of death, provided that death is due to cancer, tuberculosis, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus skin infections or blood borne infectious diseases.5

Additional death benefits are available to the totally dependent minor children of the deceased employee, until the youngest child reaches the age of 18 years old.6

For injuries on or after January 1, 2014, this continuing benefit is payable to the totally dependent minor child regardless of whether there is a surviving parent who is also a total dependent.7

A dependent is defined by statute and is not the same as an “heir” of the deceased. To claim death benefits, a person must have been dependent upon the deceased’s income in some manner, either fully or partially. Some persons are presumed to be automatic full dependents, e.g., minor children under the age of 18.

The employer is not relieved of the obligation to pay death benefits simply because there are no surviving dependents. In those situations, the state recovers the death benefit via the Department of Industrial Relations’ Death Without Dependents Unit.

If an active member of a police or fire department is killed in the performance of duty, benefits continue until their youngest child is 19 years old, if the child is still attending high school. The benefit continuation does not apply to children of employees whose principal duties were clerical or otherwise do not fall within the scope of active law enforcement or firefighting services.8

1. Lab. Code sec. 4700 et seq.