§8109 Beneficiaries of Awards Unpaid at Death; Order of Precedence

Summary

Pays unpaid scheduled disability awards to certain survivors when a person who had a compensable disability under section 8107(a), filed a valid claim while alive, and then died of a cause other than the injury before the scheduled period ended. The unpaid award for the scheduled period goes to people alive at that time. If only a spouse or only children survive, the payment goes to them. If both spouse and children survive, the money is split half to the spouse and half to the children. If no spouse or children, it goes to dependent parents or other wholly dependent relatives listed in section 8133(a)(5) in amounts set by regulation. If none of those exist and no burial allowance under section 8134 applies, up to the burial-allowance amount may be paid to someone who fairly paid the burial costs (not insurers, obligors, or government entities). Except for amounts for times before death, payments use the basic rate in section 8107(a) even if the person would have qualified for the higher rate under section 8110. A surviving beneficiary (except a burial-reimbursement payee) must be alive to get payment and has no guaranteed future right. If a beneficiary’s right ends under the rules in section 8133, any unpaid amount is paid to other surviving beneficiaries in the same order.