656.204 Death. 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, 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.
(b) The total
benefits provided for in this subsection may not exceed 4.35 times 10 percent
of the average weekly wage. If the sum of the individual benefits exceeds this
maximum, the benefit for each dependent must be reduced proportionally.
(5) If a child is
incapacitated at the time the child otherwise becomes ineligible for benefits
under this section, the payment to the child must continue while the child
remains an incapacitated child. If an individual is entitled to payment because
the individual is an incapacitated child, payment must terminate when the
individual ceases to be an incapacitated child.
(6)(a) If a child
or dependent is between 19 and 26 years of age at the time of a worker’s death,
or becomes 19 years of age after the worker’s death, monthly benefits must be
paid for not more than 48 months until the age of 26 during a period in which
the child or dependent is completing secondary education, is obtaining a
general educational development certificate or is attending a program of higher
education. The child or dependent must provide an insurer or self-insured
employer with documentation that enables the insurer or self-insured employer
to determine the child’s or dependent’s eligibility for monthly benefits.
(b) If a child or
dependent who is eligible for benefits under this subsection does not have a
surviving parent, the child or dependent must receive 4.35 times 66-2/3 percent
of the average weekly wage.
(c) As used in
this subsection, “attending a program of higher education” means regularly
attending community college, college or university, or regularly attending a
course of vocational or technical training designed to prepare the participant
for gainful employment. A child or dependent enrolled in an educational course
load of less than one-half of that determined by the educational facility to
constitute “full-time” enrollment is not “attending a program of higher
education.”
(7) As used in
this section, “average weekly wage” has the meaning for that term provided in
ORS 656.211. [Amended by 1957 c.453 §1; 1965 c.285 §22; 1967 c.286 §1; 1969
c.521 §1; 1971 c.415 §1; 1973 c.497 §2; 1974 c.41 §4; 1981 c.535 §4; 1981 c.874
§15; 1985 c.108 §1; 1987 c.235 §1; 1991 c.473 §1; 1995 c.332 §13; 1999 c.927 §2;
2009 c.171 §1; 2015 c.629 §54; 2017 c.71 §2; 2022 c.6 §1]
Note: Sections 1 and 2, chapter 106,
Oregon Laws 2022, provide:
Sec. 1. (1) The Department of Consumer and
Business Services, the Employment Department and the Oregon Health Authority
shall enter into an intergovernmental agreement, as authorized under ORS
190.110, for the purpose of sharing information necessary to enable the
Department of Consumer and Business Services to inform beneficiaries of their
rights under ORS 656.204.
(2) The
information shared by the Oregon Health Authority under this section shall be
the minimum necessary for the purpose set forth in subsection (1) of this
section and is limited to information regarding deaths from COVID-19 associated
with workplace outbreaks published by the authority. [2022 c.106 §1]
Sec. 2. Section 1 of this 2022 Act applies
to data related to the rights of beneficiaries under ORS 656.204 arising before
the date on which the state of emergency declared by the Governor on March 8,
2020, for the COVID-19 pandemic, and any extension of the state of emergency,
is no longer in effect [April 1, 2022]. [2022 c.106 §2]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
79
cases (
5 in the last 5 years), 1969–2025 · leading case:
Sather v. Saif Corp., 347 P.3d 326 (Or. 2015).
Sather v. Saif Corp., 347 P.3d 326 (Or. 2015).
· cites it 32× “While judicial review was pending before the Court of Appeals, claimant died of causes unrelated to his workplace injury, without a surviving spouse or other beneficiary entitled to a death benefit under ORS 656.204. See also ORS 656.005(2) (defining “beneficiary” to mean “an…”
Amos v. SAIF Corp., 694 P.2d 998 (Or. Ct. App. 1985).
· cites it 12× “226, then ORS 656.204(2) applies: “If the worker is survived by a spouse, monthly benefits shall be paid in an amount equal to 4.”
Leech v. Georgia-Pac. Corp., 458 P.2d 438 (Or. 1969).
· cites it 34× “Under ORS 656.204, compensation was awarded the widow at the rate of $110 per month.”
Neher v. Chartier, 879 P.2d 156 (Or. 1994).
· cites it 3× “On appeal, the Court of Appeals rejected plaintiffs challenge under Article I, section 10, noting that workers’ compensation death benefits of up to $3,000 for burial expenses were available to the estate, ORS 656.204(1), and concluding that “we cannot say that the substitution…”
Brown v. SAIF Corp., 391 P.3d 773 (Or. 2017).
“126(1) (referring to a worker receiving an “accidental injury” that arises out of and in the course of employment); ORS 656.204 (referring to death resulting from “accidental injury”); ORS 656.”
Cutright v. Weyerhaeuser Co., 702 P.2d 403 (Or. 1985).
· cites it 2× “ORS 656.204(2) states that "[i]f death results from the accidental injury, payments * * * shall be paid in an amount equal to 4.”
Cato v. Alcoa-Reynolds Metals Co., 152 P.3d 981 (Or. Ct. App. 2007).
· cites it 4× “See generally ORS 656.204. The specified beneficiaries primarily include the worker’s surviving spouse, children and dependents under the age of 18, and children and dependents age 18 who are attending high school, as well as children and other dependents under age 23 who are…”
Vasquez v. Double Press Mfg., Inc., 437 P.3d 1107 (Or. 2019).
“710(2)(b), and insurance benefits available via a claim for workers' compensation benefits, ORS 656.204 - 656.260, are mutually exclusive.”
Sather v. SAIF Corp., 325 P.3d 819 (Or. Ct. App. 2014).
· cites it 18× “See ORS 656.204. SAIF asserts that the petition should therefore be dismissed, because there is no one entitled to pursue it.”
Liberty Nw. Ins. Corp. v. Golden, 840 P.2d 1362 (Or. Ct. App. 1992).
· cites it 4× “ORS 656.204. Respondent, the personal representative of decedent's estate, brought a wrongful death action for the benefit of the husband and the children against the driver of the truck that hit decedent.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 656.204(1) — 9 cases
Neher v. Chartier, 879 P.2d 156 (Or. 1994).
“On appeal, the Court of Appeals rejected plaintiffs challenge under Article I, section 10, noting that workers’ compensation death benefits of up to $3,000 for burial expenses were available to the estate, ORS 656.204(1), and concluding that “we cannot say that the substitution…”
Sather v. Saif Corp., 347 P.3d 326 (Or. 2015).
“While judicial review was pending before the Court of Appeals, claimant died of causes unrelated to his workplace injury, without a surviving spouse or other beneficiary entitled to a death benefit under ORS 656.204. See also ORS 656.005(2) (defining “beneficiary” to mean “an…”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 656.204(1)(b) — 1 case
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 656.204(2) — 7 cases
Amos v. SAIF Corp., 694 P.2d 998 (Or. Ct. App. 1985).
“226, then ORS 656.204(2) applies: “If the worker is survived by a spouse, monthly benefits shall be paid in an amount equal to 4.”
Cutright v. Weyerhaeuser Co., 702 P.2d 403 (Or. 1985).
“ORS 656.204(2) states that "[i]f death results from the accidental injury, payments * * * shall be paid in an amount equal to 4.”
Leech v. Georgia-Pac. Corp., 458 P.2d 438 (Or. 1969).
“Under ORS 656.204, compensation was awarded the widow at the rate of $110 per month.”
Cato v. Alcoa-Reynolds Metals Co., 152 P.3d 981 (Or. Ct. App. 2007).
“See generally ORS 656.204. The specified beneficiaries primarily include the worker’s surviving spouse, children and dependents under the age of 18, and children and dependents age 18 who are attending high school, as well as children and other dependents under age 23 who are…”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 656.204(2)(a) — 3 cases
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 656.204(2)(d) — 1 case
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 656.204(3) — 2 cases
Amos v. SAIF Corp., 694 P.2d 998 (Or. Ct. App. 1985).
“226, then ORS 656.204(2) applies: “If the worker is survived by a spouse, monthly benefits shall be paid in an amount equal to 4.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 656.204(4) — 6 cases
Amos v. SAIF Corp., 694 P.2d 998 (Or. Ct. App. 1985).
“226, then ORS 656.204(2) applies: “If the worker is survived by a spouse, monthly benefits shall be paid in an amount equal to 4.”
Leech v. Georgia-Pac. Corp., 458 P.2d 438 (Or. 1969).
“Under ORS 656.204, compensation was awarded the widow at the rate of $110 per month.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 656.204(4)(a) — 2 cases
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 656.204(5) — 3 cases
Leech v. Georgia-Pac. Corp., 458 P.2d 438 (Or. 1969).
“Under ORS 656.204, compensation was awarded the widow at the rate of $110 per month.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 656.204(5)(a) — 2 cases
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 656.204(7) — 1 case
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 656.204(8) — 1 case
Leech v. Georgia-Pac. Corp., 458 P.2d 438 (Or. 1969).
“Under ORS 656.204, compensation was awarded the widow at the rate of $110 per month.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 656.204(l)(a) — 1 case
Sather v. SAIF Corp., 325 P.3d 819 (Or. Ct. App. 2014).
“See ORS 656.204. SAIF asserts that the petition should therefore be dismissed, because there is no one entitled to pursue it.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 656.204(l)(b) — 2 cases
Sather v. Saif Corp., 347 P.3d 326 (Or. 2015).
“While judicial review was pending before the Court of Appeals, claimant died of causes unrelated to his workplace injury, without a surviving spouse or other beneficiary entitled to a death benefit under ORS 656.204. See also ORS 656.005(2) (defining “beneficiary” to mean “an…”
Sather v. SAIF Corp., 325 P.3d 819 (Or. Ct. App. 2014).
“See ORS 656.204. SAIF asserts that the petition should therefore be dismissed, because there is no one entitled to pursue it.”
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