Firefighters’ Widow Entitled to WC Benefits, Md. Court Rules

A Maryland widow is entitled to her late husband’s workers’ compensation death benefits because she was dependent upon her husband at the time of his disablement, a Maryland appeals court has ruled.

The appeals panel overturned a lower court that had denied her the benefits because it found she was not dependent upon her husband at the time of his death.

This case arose from an award by the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC) of partial death benefits to Janet Conrad, as a dependent of her late husband, Joseph Conrad, who was employed as a firefighter by Montgomery County.

Conrad filed a claim with the WCC, seeking dependency benefits arising out of her husband’s death from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Her husband was diagnosed with COPD and lung cancer in 2012, and he passed away in 2017. Prior to his death, the commission awarded him workers’ compensation benefits for his conditions.

But Montgomery County opposed the death benefits yo his widow, maintaining that while Conrad was partially dependent on her husband at the time of his death, she became “wholly self-sufficient” immediately after his death, and therefore, the commission erred in awarding her death benefits. The Circuit Court of Montgomery County agreed and granted the county’s motion for summary judgment that denied her the benefits.

On appeal, Conrad argued that the circuit court erred in failing to focus on her dependency “at the time of [Mr. Conrad’s] disablement” and the “time of death,” and instead, the court improperly focused on the “time after death.” She further asserted that the court erred in considering her receipt of Social Security benefits in its assessment of her dependency status.

The county did not dispute that Conrad was a dependent at the time of disablement and the time of her husband’s death. However, the county contended, she became wholly self-supporting once her husband died and his pension became her pension. Therefore, it argued, the circuit court properly found that the award of continuing benefits was erroneous. The county further argued that Social Security benefits are income that properly may be considered in determining the issue of dependency under the Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA).

The appeals court noted that the first step is to determine whether under the WCA the surviving spouse is partially or wholly dependent on the date of disablement, and therefore, entitled to receive benefits up to the $45,000 maximum. The court said the law mandates application of the facts “existing at the time of the accident that caused the death of the employee” in dependency determinations, adding that the accident is the date of disablement for occupational illness.

The appeals court noted that there was no dispute that Conrad, who was not employed at the time of her husband’s disablement, was wholly dependent on her husband at the time of disablement. Accordingly, it ruled, she is entitled to $45,000 in whole dependency benefits. It found that the circuit court erred in ruling that to award the appropriate level of death benefits, the commission shall determine a surviving spouse’s level of dependency “based on the parties’ situation at the time of the covered employee’s death, not on the date of disablement.”

The parties agreed that the county had fulfilled its obligation when it paid Conrad approximately $50,000. What happens next is up to Conrad, who may seek continuing benefits if she believes that she continues to be dependent, wholly or partially.