ORS 656.204 Death

• Library: Oregon Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through legislation effective January 1, 2024
• Year: 2023
• Citation: ORS 656.204

If death results from an accidental injury, payments must be made as follows:

(1)

(a) The cost of final disposition of the body and funeral expenses, including but not limited to transportation of the body, must be paid, not to exceed 20 times the average weekly wage in any case.

(b) The insurer or self-insured employer shall pay bills submitted for disposition and funeral expenses up to the benefit limit established in paragraph (a) of this subsection. If any part of the benefit remains unpaid 60 days after the date of death or the date of claim acceptance, whichever is later, the insurer or self-insured employer shall pay the unpaid amount to the estate of the worker.

(2)

(a) If a worker is survived by a spouse, monthly benefits must be paid in an amount equal to 4.35 times 66-2/3 percent of the average weekly wage to the surviving spouse until remarriage. Only one person may qualify as a spouse for the purposes of this paragraph. The payment shall cease at the end of the month in which the remarriage occurs.

(b) Upon remarriage, a surviving spouse must be paid 36 times the monthly benefit in a lump sum as final payment of the surviving spousal benefit.

(c) If, after the date of the subject worker's death, the surviving spouse cohabits with another person, [for an aggregate period of more than one year and a child has resulted from the relationship] such that the relationship would be subject to the provisions of ORS 107.105 to 107.136 and 107.700 to 107.735, the surviving spouse must be paid 36 times the monthly benefit in a lump sum as final payment of the surviving spousal benefit.

(3)

(a) If a worker leaves a child under 19 years of age, a monthly benefit equal to 4.35 times 25 percent of the average weekly wage must be paid to each such child until the child becomes 19 years of age.

(b) The total benefits provided for in this subsection may not exceed 4.35 times 133-1/3 percent of the average weekly wage. If the sum of the individual benefits exceeds this maximum, the benefit for each child must be reduced proportionally.

(4)

(a) If a worker leaves a dependent, a monthly payment must be made to each dependent that is equal to 50 percent of the average monthly support the dependent actually received from the worker during the 12 months preceding the occurrence of the accidental injury. If a dependent is under the age of 19 years at the time of the accidental injury, the payment to the dependent must cease when the dependent becomes 19 years of age. The payment to any dependent must cease under the same circumstances that would have terminated the dependency had the injury not happened.