SUBPART C.  DEATH BENEFITS

§1231.  Death of employee; payment to dependents; surviving parents

A.  For injury causing death within two years after the last treatment resulting from the accident, there shall be paid to the legal dependent of the employee, actually and wholly dependent upon his earnings for support at the time of the accident and death, a weekly sum as provided in this Subpart.

B.(1)  If the employee leaves legal dependents only partially actually dependent upon his earnings for support at the time of the accident and death, the weekly compensation to be paid shall be equal to the same proportion of the weekly payments for the benefit of persons wholly dependent as the amount contributed by the employee to such partial dependents in the year prior to his death bears to the earnings of the deceased at the time of the accident.

(2)  If the employee leaves no legal dependents, whether biological or adopted, entitled to benefits under any state or federal compensation system, one lump sum payment of seventy-five thousand dollars shall be paid to the employee's surviving biological and adopted children who are over the age of majority, to be divided equally among them, which shall constitute the sole and exclusive compensation in such cases.

(3)  If the employee leaves no dependents entitled to benefits under Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, one lump sum of seventy-five thousand dollars shall be paid to the surviving biological and adopted children of the employee to be divided equally among them, which shall constitute the sole and exclusive compensation in such cases.  If the employee leaves no legal dependents and no biological or adopted children entitled to benefits under any state or federal compensation system, the sum of seventy-five thousand dollars shall be paid to each surviving parent of the deceased employee, in a lump sum, which shall constitute the sole and exclusive compensation in such cases.

Amended by Acts 1956, No. 412, §1; Acts 1968, Ex.Sess., No. 25, §6; Acts 1975, No. 583, §10, eff. Sept.  1, 1975; Acts 1980, No. 509, §1; Acts 1988, No. 938, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1989; Acts 1992, No. 431, §1; Acts 2001, No. 1156, §1; Acts 2012, No. 99, §1; Acts 2012, No. 793, §1.