If a family member died from a job-related injury or illness in Louisiana, workers’ compensation death benefits can pay your household a weekly check based on the worker’s wages, cover up to $8,500 in burial costs, and in some cases pay a $75,000 lump sum. A surviving spouse and minor children get first priority. The claim must be started quickly: the employer needs notice within 30 days, and a formal claim or agreement must be in place within one year, or the right to benefits is gone.
Who Counts as a Dependent
You must have been financially dependent on the worker at the time of the accident that led to the death. Louisiana separates people who were wholly dependent on the worker’s earnings from those who were only partially dependent.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 23-1231 – Death of Employee Payment to Dependents Surviving Parents A wholly dependent person receives full weekly benefits. A partially dependent person receives a reduced amount, proportional to what the worker actually contributed to their support during the year before the death.
A spouse and minor children almost always qualify as wholly dependent and come first in line. If the worker left no spouse or minor children, parents can receive benefits by showing they relied on the worker’s income. Proving dependency past spouse or minor child usually takes financial records: tax returns, bank statements, or sworn statements about regular contributions to household expenses.
One eligibility rule catches families off guard. The death must occur within two years of the worker’s last medical treatment for the work-related injury.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 23-1231 – Death of Employee Payment to Dependents Surviving Parents If a worker lingers for years after treatment ends and then dies from the same injury, the family may not qualify. That two-year window runs from the last treatment, not from the original accident.
How Much the Weekly Benefit Pays
Death benefits are paid as weekly checks, not one lump sum. The amount is a percentage of the worker’s average weekly wage, and the percentage depends on who survives.2Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 23 RS 23-1232 – Allocation to Dependents
- Surviving spouse alone: 32.5% of the worker’s average weekly wage.
- Surviving spouse with children: 65% of the worker’s average weekly wage.
- Surviving parent, when no spouse or children: 32.5% of the worker’s average weekly wage.
Louisiana caps weekly benefits at a statutory maximum that changes each year with the statewide average weekly wage. If the worker’s calculated benefit exceeds the cap, you receive the capped amount. A minimum weekly floor also applies when the worker earned very little.
How Long Payments Last
A surviving spouse receives weekly payments until death or remarriage. If the spouse remarries, weekly benefits stop, but the spouse receives a final lump-sum payment equal to two years of weekly benefits.
Children receive benefits until age 18. A child who is physically or mentally incapacitated can continue receiving benefits past 18. A full-time student can continue up to age 23 while enrolled. When a spouse remarries and children still qualify, the children’s benefits keep going on their own; only the spouse’s portion is cut off, aside from that two-year lump sum.
When There Are No Dependents
When a worker dies with no spouse, minor children, or other people who qualify as dependents under state or federal compensation laws, Louisiana requires a flat $75,000 lump-sum payment. That money goes first to the worker’s surviving adult children, divided equally.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 23-1231 – Death of Employee Payment to Dependents Surviving Parents
If there are no adult children, each surviving parent receives $75,000. That is the full extent of compensation in a case with no dependents. It replaces ongoing weekly benefits, and no further payments follow.
Burial Expenses
The employer or its workers’ compensation insurer must pay reasonable burial costs up to $8,500. This is separate from and in addition to any weekly benefits or lump-sum payments.3Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 23 RS 23-1210 – Burial Expenses Duty to Furnish The family submits an itemized funeral bill to the insurer, which reviews the charges for reasonableness and against the $8,500 cap. Anything above that amount is the family’s responsibility.
Deadlines You Cannot Miss
Two separate deadlines apply, and confusing them is one of the most common mistakes families make.
30-Day Notice to the Employer
The employer must be notified of the worker’s death within 30 days.4Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 23-1302 – Employers Duty to Advise Employees as to Necessity of Notice If the employer failed to post the required workplace notice explaining this deadline, the notice period extends to 12 months. The employer usually knows about the death already, but sending written notice protects you from an insurer later arguing the claim was untimely.
One-Year Formal Filing Bar
You have one year from the date of the accident or the date of death to either reach an agreement with the insurer on benefit payments or file a formal claim.5Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 23-1209 – Prescription Timeliness of Filing Dismissal for Want of Prosecution If that window passes without either happening, the claim is permanently barred. Louisiana courts enforce this strictly. If the insurer is slow-walking your claim, file the formal disputed claim form before the year runs out, even if you are still negotiating.
Documents to Gather Early
Expect the insurer to request the worker’s death certificate, proof of employment, and documents showing your relationship and financial dependency. A spouse needs a marriage certificate. Children need birth certificates. Parents and other dependents will likely need tax returns or bank records showing the worker’s regular financial contributions to the household.
If the Insurer Denies or Delays
Disputes over dependency status, wage calculations, or whether the death was work-related are common. When you cannot resolve the issue with the insurer, you can file a formal disputed claim with the Louisiana Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration. The filing opens a case before a workers’ compensation judge in your district, and the parties may be ordered into mediation before a formal hearing.6Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 23-1310.3 – Disputed Claims Filing and Service
When an insurer drags its feet on payments it owes, Louisiana law provides real leverage. A workers’ compensation judge can impose a penalty of up to 12% of the unpaid benefits, or $50 per day for each day benefits remain unpaid, whichever is greater. The daily penalty caps at $2,000 per claim, and the overall maximum at any single hearing is $8,000. The judge can also award reasonable attorney fees.7Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 23-1201 – Payment of Claims Penalties
Suing a Third Party
Workers’ compensation is generally the only claim available against the employer. When someone other than the employer caused the death, the family can sue that third party while still collecting workers’ compensation death benefits.8Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 23-1101 – Employee and Employer Suits Against Third Persons Effect on Right to Compensation Getting workers’ comp does not reduce what you can recover in the lawsuit, and the lawsuit recovery does not cap your comp benefits.
These situations come up more often than people expect. A negligent driver in a fatal crash while the worker was on the job, a manufacturer of defective equipment, or a property owner who failed to maintain a safe worksite can each be a third party. A lawsuit can include compensation for pain and suffering, which workers’ comp never covers. Note, though, that the workers’ compensation insurer has a right to recover what it paid out of any third-party judgment or settlement.
Are These Benefits Taxed
Workers’ compensation death benefits are not taxable income at the federal level. The IRS treats amounts received under a workers’ compensation act as fully exempt, and that exemption extends to survivors.9Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 (2025), Taxable and Nontaxable Income You will not receive a 1099 for these payments and do not need to report them on your federal return.
Attorney Fees
Louisiana caps attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases at 20% of the amount recovered, and every fee arrangement must be reviewed and approved by a workers’ compensation judge before the attorney can collect.10Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 23 RS 23-1141 – Attorney Fees Privilege Most workers’ compensation attorneys work on contingency, so you pay nothing upfront and the fee comes out of the award. If the insurer is paying benefits voluntarily and nothing is contested, you may not need an attorney. If a claim is denied, dependency is contested, or the insurer disputes the worker’s average weekly wage, representation usually pays for itself through the penalty and fee provisions the law makes available.