Colorado § 8-42-117 - Benefits to partial dependents.

§ 8-42-117. Benefits to partial dependents.

(1) If death occurs to an injured employee, other than as a proximate result of the injury, before disability indemnity ceases and the deceased leaves persons partially dependent upon the deceased for support, death benefits shall be as follows:

(a) Where the injury proximately caused permanent total disability, the death benefit shall consist of that proportion of the unpaid and unaccrued portion of the permanent total disability benefit which the employee would have received had the employee lived until said employee had received compensation at the employee's regular rate for a period of six years as the amount devoted by the deceased to the support of such persons for the year immediately prior to the injury bears to the total income of the persons during said year.

(b) Where the injury caused permanent partial disability, the death benefit shall consist of that proportion of the unpaid and unaccrued portion of the permanent partial disability benefit which the employee would have received if the employee had lived as the amount devoted by the deceased to the support of such persons for the year immediately prior to the injury bears to the total income of the persons during said year.

Source: L. 90: Entire article R&RE, p. 496, § 1, effective July 1.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 8-50-113 as it existed prior to 1990.

ANNOTATION

Annotator's note. Since § 8-42-117 is similar to § 8-50-113 as it existed prior to the 1990 repeal and reenactment of the "Workers' Compensation Act of Colorado", articles 40 to 47 of this title, relevant cases construing that provision have been included in the annotations to this section.

The purpose of the workmen's compensation act is to cast upon the particular industry the burden resulting from accidental injuries sustained by its employees while performing duties arising out of and in the course of their employment. Borquez v. John Burbank Trucking, 164 Colo. 217, 433 P.2d 767 (1967).

However, this section was not intended to compensate employees for injuries on illness not due to their employment; or to pay benefits to their dependents when death results from such injuries or illness; or to pay the medical, hospital, funeral, or other expenses incurred by reason of such injuries, illness, or death. Borquez v. John Burbank Trucking, 164 Colo. 217, 433 P.2d 767 (1967).

But not unreasonable to pay dependents award made during employee's lifetime. It is not unreasonable to pay dependents, when the employee's death resulted from injuries not due to employment, any unpaid installments or compensation that may become due and payable to the employee during his lifetime, under a disability award made during his lifetime. Borquez v. John Burbank Trucking, 164 Colo. 217, 433 P.2d 767 (1967).

And this section has no application were the employee dies before there has been any determination that he is even entitled to any permanent partial disability benefits. Borquez v. John Burbank Trucking, 164 Colo. 217, 433 P.2d 767 (1967).

Applied in Employers' Mut. Ins. Co. v. Indus. Comm'n, 89 Colo. 475, 3 P.2d 1079 (1931).