Illinois Workers’ Compensation Death Benefits: Who Qualifies, How Much, and the New $10,000 Burial Benefit
By Illinois Workers’ Compensation Attorney Matthew C. Jones | Updated August 13, 2026
When a worker dies because of a job-related accident or occupational disease, the family may be entitled to much more than payment toward the funeral. Illinois law can provide weekly death benefits to qualifying survivors, payment of medical expenses related to the final injury, and a separate statutory burial-expense payment.
Quick Answer: What Does Illinois Workers’ Comp Pay After a Work-Related Death?
Qualifying survivors may receive weekly benefits generally based on 66⅔% of the worker’s average weekly wage, subject to the statutory minimum and maximum for the applicable injury date. Section 8 states that total compensation under Section 7 cannot exceed the greater of $500,000 or 25 years of benefits, although dependency, remarriage, a child’s age, disability, and other statutory rules can affect how long a particular beneficiary remains eligible.
New for 2026: Public Act 104-0792 increased the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act’s burial-expense payment from $8,000 to $10,000 effective August 7, 2026.
This page explains the general rules. Fatal claims are especially fact-dependent because the correct beneficiaries, payment period, wage rate, medical cause of death, settlement value, and possible third-party case all must be evaluated. For the broader claim process, see our complete Illinois workers’ compensation guide.
The New Illinois $10,000 Burial-Expense Benefit
On August 7, 2026, Governor JB Pritzker approved HB 5228 as Public Act 104-0792. The law took effect immediately. It amended Section 7(f) of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act by replacing the former $8,000 amount with a $10,000 burial-expense payment.
The Act uses the term burial expenses, although families and lawyers commonly call this the funeral benefit. The statute says the payment may be made to the surviving spouse, another dependent, next of kin, or the person or persons who incurred the burial expense. A person or organization that paid or became responsible for the expense may bring a proceeding before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission to collect it.
Important Effective-Date Point
The amended Act now states $10,000. A claim involving an accident or exposure before August 7, 2026 may require a separate effective-date analysis; families should not assume the new amount automatically applies to every older accident simply because the death or claim occurred later.
The burial payment is separate from weekly survivor benefits. It also does not decide whether a spouse, child, parent, or other relative qualifies for ongoing checks.
The burial change was one part of a broader amendment that also changed certain utilization-review and medical-necessity examination rules. Read our separate explanation of the 2026 changes to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act.
How Much Are Weekly Illinois Workers’ Comp Death Benefits?
For a qualifying survivor, the starting formula is generally 66⅔% of the deceased worker’s average weekly wage. Average weekly wage is usually based on earnings before the accident, and disputes can arise over overtime, bonuses, concurrent employment, short employment periods, and missing wage records.
Illinois also imposes a minimum and maximum death-benefit rate tied to the Statewide Average Weekly Wage. The applicable rates normally depend on the date of injury, not simply the date someone reads this page.
| Injury-date period | General formula | Minimum weekly death rate | Maximum weekly death rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 15, 2026 through January 14, 2027 | 66⅔% of average weekly wage | $767.11 | $2,045.63 |
Example: If the worker’s average weekly wage was $1,200, two-thirds is $800. Subject to the facts and applicable rate date, the starting weekly death-benefit calculation would be $800. If two-thirds of the wage exceeds the statutory maximum, the maximum rate applies. Partial-dependency claims may be paid proportionally rather than at the full rate.
The total benefit is not multiplied by the number of survivors. When more than one person qualifies, the statutory weekly amount is allocated among the beneficiaries under the dependency rules.
For a broader explanation of average weekly wage and Illinois benefit calculations, see how much Illinois workers’ comp pays. The IWCC also publishes its current benefit-rate table.
Does Illinois Cap Death Benefits at $500,000 or 25 Years?
Section 8(b)(4.2) says total compensation payable under Section 7 cannot exceed the greater of $500,000 or 25 years. That wording matters. It does not mean every family automatically receives $500,000, and it does not mean every beneficiary is guaranteed 25 years of payments.
The correct analysis has two parts:
- Determine who qualifies and how long that person remains eligible under Section 7.
- Apply the total statutory limit using whichever is greater: $500,000 or 25 years of benefits at the applicable rate.
A surviving spouse’s death or remarriage, a child reaching the applicable age, the end of a disability, and the rules governing other dependent relatives can change the actual payment period. Recipients of a final death-benefit award may also qualify for cost-of-living payments through the IWCC’s Rate Adjustment Fund.
Who Qualifies for Workers’ Compensation Death Benefits in Illinois?
Section 7 uses a priority system. A relative does not qualify for weekly benefits merely because that person is an heir. The relationship to the worker and, for some categories, proof of financial dependency are critical.
| Potential beneficiary | General Illinois rule |
|---|---|
| Surviving spouse | A surviving spouse is in the first statutory category. Payment length can be affected by the presence of qualifying children and remarriage. |
| Children under 18 | Qualifying children are in the first category. When a child under 18 is entitled at the worker’s death, the Act provides a minimum payment period of six years for the child or children. |
| Full-time students | Payments may continue until age 25 while a qualifying child is enrolled full time in an accredited educational institution. |
| Physically or mentally incapacitated children | Payments may continue for the duration of the incapacity. The Act defines this category by inability to engage in regular and substantial gainful employment. |
| Totally dependent parents | If no spouse or qualifying child is entitled, a parent or parents who were totally dependent at the time of the accident may receive benefits for life, subject to the Act’s other limitations. |
| Other dependent children or partially dependent parents | If the higher-priority categories do not apply, proportional benefits may be payable for eight years based on the extent of dependency. |
| Certain grandparents, grandchildren, or collateral heirs | If no higher-priority beneficiary qualifies, proportional benefits may be payable for five years when the statutory dependency threshold is met. |
The Act’s definition of a child can include a posthumous child, an adopted child, a child the worker was legally obligated to support, or a child to whom the worker stood in the place of a parent. Unusual family, guardianship, student, or disability circumstances should be reviewed using the exact statutory language.
What Happens If a Surviving Spouse Remarries?
If a surviving spouse remarries when there is no child still entitled to benefits, Section 7 provides a lump sum equal to two years of compensation, after which the spouse’s further rights are extinguished. If a qualifying child remains, the analysis is different. The insurer should not apply a one-size-fits-all remarriage rule without examining the children’s status.
What If There Is No Spouse or Minor Child?
The claim does not necessarily end, but other relatives usually must fit a lower-priority statutory category and prove the required level of dependency. The estate does not automatically receive ongoing weekly Section 7 benefits simply because no spouse or minor child qualifies. Separate accrued benefits, estate claims, and the $10,000 burial payment can involve different rules.
The Death Does Not Have to Occur at the Job Site or Immediately
A compensable death may occur in the workplace, at a hospital days later, or after a longer period of medical treatment. The central question is whether a covered work accident or occupational disease caused or contributed to the death under Illinois law.
Possible examples include:
- a worker killed in a job-related vehicle crash;
- a fatal fall, crush injury, electrocution, or equipment incident;
- death from complications of surgery or treatment required by a work injury;
- a heart or vascular event when the employment contribution can be proven; or
- death caused by or aggravated by a qualifying occupational disease or workplace exposure.
Illinois workers’ compensation is generally a no-fault system. The family ordinarily does not have to prove that the employer was negligent, and the worker’s ordinary mistake does not automatically defeat the claim. But no-fault does not mean automatic. The claimant must still prove the employment relationship, the work connection, and the causal relationship between the accident or exposure and the death.
Medical records, the death certificate, coroner or autopsy evidence, treating-doctor opinions, witness testimony, incident reports, photographs, OSHA material, and the worker’s prior health history may all become important.
Medical Bills Before Death May Also Be Covered
If the employee received emergency care, hospitalization, surgery, or other treatment before death, the employer may be responsible for reasonable and necessary medical services related to the work injury. Those bills are separate from the weekly survivor checks and burial payment.
This can matter when a worker survives for days, weeks, or months after the accident. Families should not assume that health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, or the estate must absorb treatment that should have been paid under workers’ compensation.
Lump-Sum Settlement vs. Receiving Death Benefits Over Time
Death benefits can be paid over many years. The actual period depends on the qualifying beneficiaries and the rules involving a spouse, children, full-time students, a child with a disability, parents, other dependents, remarriage, and the statutory total-benefit limitation.
In some cases, the parties negotiate a lump-sum settlement based in part on the present cash value of the future weekly checks. Present value reflects that money paid now is worth more than the same dollars paid years from now. It is a starting point for analysis, not a rule requiring the family to accept a discount.
The Practical Reality of Death-Benefit Settlements
In our experience, an insurance carrier that agrees to pay future benefits in one lump sum usually wants a meaningful discount for paying the money now. Sometimes the carrier does not want to settle the future checks at all. Neither side is required to settle.
If the family proves the claim at a hearing, the Commission can award the statutory benefits payable over the applicable period. That allows the beneficiaries to receive the benefits required by the Act without voluntarily accepting a negotiated present-value discount. A hearing has risk and requires proof, but sometimes trying the case is better than discounting years of benefits simply to obtain a lump sum.
The Act also contains procedures for lump-sum and partial lump-sum payments. For example, in a qualifying spouse case, a partial lump sum of up to 100 weeks may be requested within 18 months after death, subject to Commission approval and a finding that it is in the beneficiaries’ best interest. That statutory procedure is different from a negotiated settlement of the entire claim.
A proper settlement analysis should compare at least:
- the expected statutory weekly rate and payment period;
- the present value of the projected checks;
- the carrier’s proposed discount;
- the strength of the work-causation and dependency evidence;
- future events that could change eligibility;
- the value of Rate Adjustment Fund benefits;
- the time and risk involved in an IWCC hearing and appeal; and
- any workers’ compensation lien or coordination issue in a third-party case.
A large lump-sum offer is not automatically a good offer. The real question is what statutory stream is being surrendered, how the present value was calculated, what discount is being demanded, and what the family could reasonably expect if it proves the case at trial.
Can the Family Bring a Third-Party Wrongful Death Case Too?
Sometimes. Workers’ compensation generally replaces a negligence lawsuit against the direct employer, but it does not necessarily protect an outside person or company that helped cause the death. Illinois law allows a separate claim against a responsible third party even when workers’ compensation benefits are payable.
Two common examples show why this analysis is so important:
Fatal Car or Truck Crash While the Employee Was Working
Suppose a delivery driver, service technician, salesperson, truck driver, or other employee is killed while driving for work because another motorist or trucking company caused the crash. The family may have a workers’ compensation death claim through the employer and a separate wrongful death case against the at-fault driver, trucking company, or another responsible business.
Fatal Construction Accident Involving Unsafe Scaffolding
Suppose a worker falls from improperly secured scaffolding on a large construction project. Workers’ compensation may apply through the worker’s employer. Depending on who controlled, erected, supplied, inspected, or failed to secure the scaffold, there may also be a claim against a general contractor, another subcontractor, a property owner, an equipment company, or a product manufacturer.
A third-party wrongful death case may permit categories of damages that workers’ compensation does not provide, including damages for the surviving spouse and next of kin under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act. A survival claim may also preserve certain claims the worker had before death. These cases generally require proof of fault, unlike workers’ compensation.
A fatal work accident should not be treated as “only a workers’ comp case” until the third-party investigation is complete. Vehicle data, surveillance video, phone records, construction documents, inspection records, contracts, photographs, equipment, and witness memories can disappear. The workers’ compensation carrier may also assert a statutory lien against a third-party recovery, so the two cases need to be planned together.
Read our guide comparing Illinois workers’ compensation and third-party claims.
Illinois Deadlines for a Workers’ Compensation Death Claim
For an accidental injury, notice should be given to the employer as soon as practicable and generally no later than 45 days after the accident. If the accident later results in death, Section 6 generally permits an Application for Adjustment of Claim for death to be filed:
- within three years after the date of death when no compensation was paid; or
- within two years after the last payment of compensation when compensation was paid;
- whichever deadline is later.
The employer must report an accidental death to the IWCC within two working days, but that is the employer’s reporting duty. It is not a substitute for the family filing its own claim.
Occupational disease, asbestos, radiation, government-defendant, wrongful death, and other third-party claims can involve different or shorter deadlines. A family should not wait for the insurance company to decide whether it will voluntarily pay.
Documents That Can Matter in a Fatal Work-Injury Claim
The exact evidence depends on the case, but families should preserve:
- the death certificate, coroner report, and autopsy material;
- accident reports, photographs, video, witness information, and OSHA records;
- the worker’s final medical records and earlier records relevant to causation;
- pay stubs, tax forms, overtime records, and proof of concurrent employment;
- marriage, birth, adoption, school-enrollment, guardianship, and disability records;
- bank records or other evidence showing financial dependency where required;
- the funeral-home contract, invoices, receipts, and proof of who paid or became liable;
- vehicle, product, job-site, and contracting records relevant to a third-party case; and
- every letter, email, check, release, or settlement proposal from an employer or insurer.
Families should be especially careful before signing a release. A document presented as payment of funeral expenses may contain language affecting weekly death benefits, medical bills, a third-party lien, or other rights.
Frequently Asked Questions About Illinois Workers’ Comp Death Benefits
How much does workers’ comp pay for a death in Illinois?
Qualifying survivors generally receive 66⅔% of the worker’s average weekly wage, subject to the statutory minimum and maximum for the applicable injury date. For injury dates from July 15, 2026 through January 14, 2027, the death-benefit range is $767.11 to $2,045.63 per week. Partial-dependency claims may be paid proportionally.
Is the Illinois funeral benefit $8,000, $10,000, or $12,500?
Public Act 104-0792 changed the burial-expense amount in Section 7(f) from $8,000 to $10,000 effective August 7, 2026. The Illinois amendment did not set the benefit at $12,500. Older accidents may require an effective-date analysis.
Who receives the $10,000 burial payment?
The Act permits payment to a surviving spouse, other dependent, next of kin, or the person or persons who incurred the burial expense. The person or organization that paid or became liable for the expense may be able to pursue collection before the IWCC.
Does the worker have to die at work for the family to qualify?
No. The death can occur later or away from the job site, but the evidence must establish the required causal connection between the work accident or occupational disease and the death.
Can a child receive benefits after age 18?
Yes, in some situations. Benefits may continue until age 25 for a qualifying child enrolled full time in an accredited educational institution. A physically or mentally incapacitated child may remain eligible for the duration of the incapacity.
Can Illinois workers’ comp death benefits be settled for a lump sum?
Sometimes. The parties may negotiate a lump-sum resolution based partly on the present cash value of projected future checks, but the carrier may demand a discount or refuse to settle. Neither side must settle. Depending on the proof and the offer, the better course may be to obtain an IWCC award and receive statutory benefits over time.
Can the family sue after a fatal work accident?
The family usually cannot bring an ordinary negligence suit against the direct employer, but a separate wrongful death or survival claim may be available against an at-fault third party such as a negligent driver, trucking company, contractor, property owner, or equipment manufacturer. Workers’ compensation and third-party claims can often proceed together.
How long does the family have to file?
For an accidental-death claim, Section 6 generally allows filing within three years after death when no compensation was paid or within two years after the last compensation payment when payments were made, whichever is later. Notice and third-party deadlines are separate, and occupational disease cases can have different rules.
About the Author
Matthew C. Jones is a partner at McHargue & Jones, LLC and an Illinois workers’ compensation attorney. He represents workers and families in denied claims, medical-causation disputes, doctor depositions, IWCC hearings, appeals, settlement negotiations, and cases involving both workers’ compensation and third-party liability.
Talk With an Illinois Workers’ Compensation Death-Benefit Lawyer
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Official Sources
- Public Act 104-0792 — 2026 amendment increasing the Section 7(f) burial-expense payment to $10,000.
- 820 ILCS 305/7 — death-benefit beneficiaries, duration, remarriage, burial expenses, and payment rules.
- 820 ILCS 305/8 — weekly rate formula, minimums, maximums, and total-compensation limitation.
- 820 ILCS 305/6 — notice, employer death reporting, and claim-filing deadlines.
- 820 ILCS 305/5 — exclusive remedy, third-party actions, and the workers’ compensation lien.
- 820 ILCS 310/7 — death and burial benefits for qualifying occupational diseases.
- 740 ILCS 180/2 — Illinois wrongful death actions and recoverable damages.
- Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission benefit rates.
- Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission Rate Adjustment Fund.
This article provides general information about Illinois workers’ compensation and third-party death claims. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Public Act 104-0792 is new, and effective-date or interpretation questions may require review by the IWCC or courts. Every case depends on its own facts, evidence, beneficiaries, dates, and applicable law. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.