Your Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Questions Answered: What Happens if Death Occurs as a Result of a Workplace Accident in Mississippi?

It is almost too terrible to imagine: a hardworking Mississippi employee goes to his regular job on a factory assembly line as he does every day. He gets to work, punches in, and takes his position on the assembly line as usual. Several hours in, however, a machine malfunction causes the machine the worker is working on to overheat, then explode, sending flying shards of metal and product everywhere. Like a bomb, the explosion sends the worker flying, helpless against the blows and shrapnel hitting him everywhere. He is rendered unconscious, and other workers try to help him. However, when emergency personnel reach the scene of the accident, the worker is dead. He leaves behind his wife and three young children, who were supported by his sole income at the factory.

Although this is a hypothetical scenario, the truth of the matter is that workers in Mississippi can and do get killed on the job. Even the most hardworking employees and experienced staff may experience a fatal workplace accident. However, when a worker is killed in a workplace accident in Mississippi, is there anything that his or her family can do? The answer is potentially yes, they can apply for Mississippi workers’ compensation death benefits.

Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Death Benefits – What are They and Who is Eligible?

Mississippi workers’ compensation death benefits aim to financially support the spouse and certain dependent family members of a worker in the event that he or she is killed on the job. As established by the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission:

If [a workplace] injury causes death, the Workers’ Compensation Law guarantees the payment of benefits to any surviving spouse and certain surviving dependents. These benefits are payable at least every 14 days, and may continue for up to 450 weeks after the decedent’s death. These benefits equal a certain percentage of the deceased worker’s average weekly wage, and are subject to a weekly maximum amount set by statute. Also, the employer or its insurance carrier is obligated to pay up to $5,000.00 in funeral expenses, as well as an immediate lump sum payment of $1,000.00 to the surviving spouse.

 In sum, the spouse and certain dependent family members of a Mississippi worker who is killed on the job may be entitled to financial benefits and funeral expenses under Mississippi workers’ compensation death benefit laws.

Legal Help for Families of Workers Killed on the Job in Mississippi

If your loved one was killed on the job and you want to learn what to do next to get your Mississippi workers’ compensation death benefits due, contact the experienced and skilled Mississippi workers’ compensation lawyers at Lunsford Baskin & Priebe. The experienced Mississippi workers’ compensation lawyers at Lunsford Baskin & Priebe offer a free and confidential consultation to learn about your case and to see if they can help you get Mississippi workers’ compensation benefits due to you. Contact Lunsford Baskin & Priebe today and speak to a Mississippi lawyer about your case today.

Source:

mwcc.ms.gov/pdf/WCFacts2013.pdf