Benefits and money

Workers' comp death benefits in California

By the Work Injury Compass editorial team · Last updated November 2026 · How we write and check guides

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What the employer owes when a work injury causes death

When a work injury or illness causes death, with or without a period of disability first, the employer (through its insurer) owes burial expenses and a death benefit to dependents, on top of any benefits that were already due (Labor Code §4701). Any temporary or permanent disability the worker was owed before death is paid in addition to the death benefit, not subtracted from it (Labor Code §4702).

Burial expenses

• $10,000 for injuries on or after January 1, 2013.
• $5,000 for injuries from January 1, 1991 through December 31, 2012.
• $2,000 for injuries before 1991.

These are maximums for reasonable burial expenses (Labor Code §4701). Keep every funeral, cremation and cemetery receipt.

Death benefit amounts

For injuries on or after January 1, 2006, the death benefit set by Labor Code §4702 is:

• One total dependent (no partial dependents): $250,000.
• Two total dependents: $290,000.
• Three or more total dependents: $320,000, regardless of partial dependents.
• One total dependent plus partial dependents: the total dependent receives the full one-dependent benefit, and partial dependents can receive up to $25,000 more in total (Labor Code §4703). DWC's benefits table shows this as $250,000 plus four times annual support for the partial dependents, up to $290,000 in total.
• Only partial dependents: eight times the amount the worker spent each year supporting them, up to $250,000.

Older injuries have lower amounts set by the date of injury, and the statute lists each step. The death benefit is paid in installments at the worker's temporary total disability rate, but never less than $224 a week, unless the WCAB orders otherwise (Labor Code §4702).

Who counts as a dependent

Some people are conclusively presumed to be totally dependent (Labor Code §3501):

• a child under 18, or a child of any age who is physically or mentally unable to earn a living, who lived with the parent or whom the parent was legally required to support;
• a spouse married to the worker at the time of death, if the spouse earned $30,000 or less in the 12 months before the death.

Everyone else, such as a higher-earning spouse, a domestic partner, parents, adult children, or other relatives the worker supported, has to show actual dependency, total or partial, based on the facts at the time of the injury (Labor Code §3502). Proof includes bank transfers, shared household bills, rent paid, and tax returns showing the person as a dependent.

When several people are totally dependent, the benefit is divided equally among them. When there are only partial dependents, it's divided in proportion to how much each relied on the worker (Labor Code §4703).

Minor children: payments continue past the cap

If there are one or more totally dependent children, payments continue after the amounts above are paid, at the same weekly rate, until the youngest child turns 18. A child who is physically or mentally unable to earn a living gets payments for life (Labor Code §4703.5). For children of certain police officers, sheriff's deputies, peace officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty, payments continue to age 19 while the child is still in high school.

If there are no dependents

If the worker leaves no one entitled to a dependency death benefit, the employer pays a set amount to the state instead (Labor Code §4706.5), and burial expenses can still be ordered paid. Unpaid benefits that were owed to the worker before death can go to heirs. Ask DWC Information & Assistance how this applies to your family.

How to claim death benefits

1. Notify the employer in writing that the death was work-related, and ask for a DWC-1 claim form. The employer must provide one to the dependents (Labor Code §5401). A dependent signs it on the worker's behalf.
2. Collect documents: death certificate, autopsy or coroner report, medical records, marriage and birth certificates, proof of support, and burial receipts.
3. Get the claims administrator's name and send copies of everything to it. It must accept or deny, and if it delays or denies death benefits it must send written notice to the dependents.
4. File an Application for Adjudication with the WCAB if benefits are denied or disputed (see the WCAB process).

The deadline is short

A death-benefit case must generally be started within one year of the date of death if the death happens within a year of the injury. If death comes later, the year runs from the date of death or the last date benefits were provided, as Labor Code §5406 sets out. In no case can it be more than one year after death or more than 240 weeks after the date of injury, with limited exceptions for certain diseases. Don't wait for the insurer to act; see workers' comp deadlines.

Deaths of first responders and from occupational disease

For firefighters and peace officers, presumptions such as cancer or heart trouble can make the death presumptively work-related (see first responder presumptions). Deaths from diseases with long latency, such as asbestos-related disease, have their own special rules on timing. Getting legal help early is common in these cases (see do I need a lawyer?).

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different. For free help from the state, call the DWC Information & Assistance unit at 1-800-736-7401.