Commonwealth Court holds that an award of specific loss benefits to a claimant who deceases prior to payment is not payable to the estate where the cause of death is from the work injury.
In this case, the claimant sustained work injuries as the result of an explosion that occurred after a fuse was inserted into a fireworks display. The employer accepted liability for the injuries. The claimant later filed claim and review petitions, seeking to define the nature and extent of her injuries. A Workers’ Compensation Judge granted the claimant’s petitions and amended her work injuries to comprise multiple body parts and conditions, including loss of use of both arms. The judge found that the the claimant’s loss of use of her arms was a permanent impairment and that, once her total disability benefits ceased, she would be entitled to specific loss benefits.
The Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board affirmed, and the employer appealed to the Commonwealth Court on November 5, 2020. The claimant passed away on November 28, 2020, due to complications from a work-related respiratory deficiency. Thereafter, the Commonwealth Court affirmed the underlying decisions.
After the claimant’s death, her Estate filed claim, review and penalty petitions wherein they sought payment of the claimant’s specific loss benefits and penalties for failure to pay the previously awarded benefits. The Workers’ Compensation Judge dismissed the petitions, and the Estate appealed to the Board, which affirmed.
On appeal to the Commonwealth Court, the Estate argued that specific loss benefits following an injured worker’s death resulting from a work injury were payable. The court analyzed the Act and various case law interpreting the issue of the survivability of a specific loss award. The court relied on the leading case of Estate of Harris v. WCAB (Sunoco, Inc.), 845 A.2d 239 (Pa. Cmwlth, 2004). The Estate of Harris court held that Section 306(g) of the Act governs the payment of specific loss benefits and that such benefits may be paid ONLY where the death of an employee is from a cause other than a work injury. Further, the Estate of Harris court held “that where a claimant is awarded specific loss and dies without a dependent, the specific loss benefit is to be made to the estate of the deceased, but in an amount not exceeding reasonable funeral expenses.”
When she died, the claimant in the instant case was receiving total disability benefits and was awarded specific loss benefits that would commence after her total disability ceased, her work-related injuries caused her death and she had no dependents when she died. Therefore, the employer’s only obligation was to pay $7,000 in funeral expenses, which it did. The court further rejected the Estate’s argument that an award of specific loss benefits should be paid to the Estate if the death of a claimant results from work-related injuries. There is no precedent for this position, and the court noted that the remedy the Estate was seeking was legislative, not judicial.
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