We were contacted by a widow after the death of her husband as to whether Law Advice could act for her and her children in relation to a lump sum death benefit claim for compensation.
Her husband was a 45-year-old man and worked as a long distance heavy rigid truck driver. The deceased had been driving his vehicle when he lost control of the vehicle, went into a slide and crashed.
Police were notified of the accident, and that the driver was unconscious and not breathing. Police attended to the scene of the accident and took over performing CPR from one of the bystanders. They reported that the cabin of the truck had been completely crushed by the impact, and the rear tray had been torn open, spreading the contents of the truck all over the road.
Paramedics arrived and assessed the driver’s injuries and vitals, they operated a defibrillator machine in an attempt to revive the driver. Unfortunately, after a short period of time the paramedics declared the driver as deceased.
If a worker dies as a result of a work-related injury, compensation will be payable by the relevant workers compensation insurer to the worker’s dependants or estate. Insurers determining death claims for compensation are required to make fair, evidence-based and timely decisions while supporting their family members and other persons impacted by the death of a worker.
The worker’s dependents or estate will be entitled to compensation which includes a lump sum death benefit, apportioned among the dependants and weekly compensation for dependent children as well as reasonable funeral expenses.
In this matter, we liaised with the insurer to determine whether liability had been accepted in response to the death benefit claim. We also gathered the necessary supporting documentation to lodge in support of the death benefit claim. These documents included a copy of the coroner’s report, statement from NSW Police and a copy of the Death Certificate.
All immediate family members of the deceased were identified and LawAdvice advised which, if any, may have an interest in any lump sum benefit claim being paid. We wrote to each of the immediate family members and requested responses from them to submit to the Personal Injury Commission.
Once all dependants were determined, a statutory declaration was drafted by Law Advice on behalf of all dependants and all the relevant documentation was forwarded to the Personal Injury Commission to determine the apportionment of the lump sum death benefit.
A Personal Injury Commission mediation was held between the dependants and the workers compensation insurer. We presented our client’s situation, and the relevant supporting documents were lodged on behalf of our client. The matter was resolved at mediation and a lump sum death benefit of more than $800,000.00 was ordered by the Personal Injury Commission and apportioned to the dependants as agreed.