Spouse Died in Work-Related Accident?

Atlanta, GA Workers’ Comp Lawyer Explains Available Benefits

Video Transcript:

Rebecca Halberg: 

Workers' compensation does provide benefits to surviving spouses and to minor children, deceased workers.

Tom Mustin: 

What happens after a fatal on-the-job accident in Georgia? We're gonna talk to attorney Rebecca Halberg about that on today's Ask The Lawyer. Rebecca, thanks for joining us.

Rebecca Halberg: 

Absolutely, thanks for having me today.

Tom Mustin: 

Great to talk to you. So tell us about your practice and your experience dealing with surviving spouses and families after a fatal accident that claims the life of a loved one.

Rebecca Halberg: 

Absolutely, these are always very tough cases, they're heart-breaking, a lot of times you've got... Not only are you dealing with the loss of income, that people are just completely heart-broken. And so I have several open cases right now, I actually just tried one a few weeks ago where a surviving spouse and two minor children, so they're tough cases, we certainly specialize in them and try to give all good advice that we can to help people through the process.

Tom Mustin: 

It certainly is a horrible situation, but what should the surviving spouse do in the aftermath of this accident?

Rebecca Halberg: 

Absolutely, they should immediately contact a workers' compensation attorney after they've gotten through the initial shock of it all and process through it. Workers' compensation does provide benefits to surviving spouses and to minor children, deceased workers.

Tom Mustin: 

So how can a surviving spouse find out what kind of benefits they have to them... Coming...

Rebecca Halberg: 

Certainly, first up is to call a workers' compensation attorney that specializes in cases like that, and the attorneys will do an intake, gather information, and reach out to the insurance company regarding the payment of benefits.

Tom Mustin: 

And are funeral expenses covered in Georgia. And if so, how much is covered?

Rebecca Halberg: 

They are, funeral expenses are covered up to $7500.

Tom Mustin: 

How about medical expenses?

Rebecca Halberg: 

If there are any medical expenses that the deceased worker incurs, leading up to the death, let's say it's not an immediate death, workers' compensation would pay for those as well.

Tom Mustin: 

And wages, is there any compensation for that, too?

Rebecca Halberg: 

There are, and so it's similar to the weekly benefits that a person would receive if they did not pass away and they receive weekly benefits from workers' compensation. The insurance company looks at two-thirds of the pre-injury average weekly earnings, and that is capped at $725 a week for injuries after July 1st of 2022. So for example, if somebody earned $1200 a week before the accident, their surviving spouse or dependent children could get up to $725 a week.

Tom Mustin: 

And you touched on this a bit, Rebecca, but I'm gonna ask you again. How can a spouse find out information about policies that they may have?

Rebecca Halberg: 

Yeah, so workers' compensation policies would be best found out through contacting a workers' compensation attorney or even reaching out to human resources for the employer of your deceased spouse. For other policies it can be a little bit more complicated. Just as a general practice, I know that my husband and I, we keep all of our insurance policy information logged in a computer, so that it's something were to happen to one of us, we could find it. But I think best practices, if you have not done that and your spouse passes away, is to contact human resources. A lot of times, in addition to workers' compensation, some employers do have life insurance policies and other things in place that may be a benefit to the spouse and children.

Tom Mustin: 

Well, Rebecca, a lot of great information as always. Always good to see you. Thanks so much for joining us.

Rebecca Halberg: 

Absolutely, thanks for having me today. I appreciate it.

Tom Mustin: 

And that's gonna do it for this episode of Ask The lawyer. My guest has been Rebecca Halberg. If you wanna ask Rebecca a question about your situation, call the number you see on the screen. Thanks for watching. I'm Tom Mustin for Ask The Lawyers.

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