Mother passed away at work

[deeQ1]

What is the name of your state? VA

Mom died sitting at her desk at work, the police say around 1:30pm. Nobody found her until 7pm. She was 55 with quite a few different health problems. She was an office manager for a construction company, no physical labor, just all the bookkeeping. There was no struggle, no attempt to call for help, so it was determined to be a heart attack. She left a hefty mortgage payment though (with her fiance -who I call my stepdad of 28 years) with no Mortgage Life Insurance.We're just trying hard to keep the house we've had for 22 years. Is there any type of claim to make --workman's comp or otherwise- that I (the only child) can fille? She had a small personal life policy that will help for a few months, but after that...we don't know what will happen. We can only make so much money and we depended on Mom. Alot of people did. She was a great woman--over 200 people at her service. Her employer told me that they had no kind of group policy for life insurance. Is there something else he's not telling me? Thank you for your time...DQ

 

[cbg]

Please accept my condolences on the loss of your mother.

In order to have a legitimate claim for workers compensation, you (and your mother's doctor) would need to show that her death was CAUSED BY her work; not just that it happened at work. The heart attack would have to have happened BECAUSE OF some aspect of her job. The fact that it happened at work is not enough for workers comp to apply.

I don't know what you think your mother's employer is not telling you.There is no legal requirement that any private employer provide group life insurance. While many do, he is not obligated to do so. The money does not come out of his pocket and it is unlikely that one claim would cause his rates to go up, so he would have no incentive to lie about whether there was insurance or not. If he says there is no group life insurance policy, I see no reason to disbelieve him.

On the facts you have provided, I don't see any claim you can make other than on the personal policy you say your mother had.

 

[deeQ1]

Thank you, I wasn't sure if dieing at home or dieing at work made any difference. I can honestly say that work didn't cause any extra stress in her life, she found the solitude of working by herself in an office all day peaceful compared to the stress my grandma has been putting on her since my grandpa died. Thanks for the response--and your condolences.

 

[Souix]

Why not sell the house and payoff the mortgage? Or have the fiance refinance if he is on the loan?