MORSEY, INC. V. FRAZIER
WORKERS COMP: Survivor Benefits
2007-SC-000159-WC.pdf
PUBLISHED: REVERSING AND REMANDING
OPINION OF THE COURT
DATE RENDERED: 2/21/2008
KRS 342 .730(4) limits the duration of an award of survivors’ benefits to a widow of an employee who dies because of a work related accident to the date when the widow would qualify for regular Social Security retirement benefits based on the employee’s earnings record. Referring to 42 U.S .C. § 402(e), the Court held that a widow’s benefits terminate at the time she reaches the age of sixty (60), when she will qualify for widows’ benefits under the Social Security Act.
Digest by Peter Naake
My mom was 63 in 2004 when my dad passed away in a truck accident on the job in 2004. My dad was 53 when he died in 2004. She was 10 years older and had just began to recover from open heart surgery from a rare tumor when he unexpectedly died. She relied on him to take care of her. When this law was passed just a few years later, she was notified by mail she lost her monthly widow benefits thanks to this change in law. She struggled ever since.
At this moment, I am getting ready to help her look for a medical plan she can afford to help her pay for any medical expenses she may have at 76 years old. We do this yearly. She worries her plan will not be enough if she ever got real sick and she would lose everything.
I think her case should have been considered that if my dad was still alive she would have been well taken care of, not let go because she was elderly and drawing on his check. Living on social security alone is rarely enough . She would not have to worry like she does now. It was already hard enough living without her husband.
The economy crashed at the same time her benefits were taken away. My dad knew he could die on the road. He took that risk for years. He became a truck driver in the late 80’s because that was all he was able to get that would provide enough for his family back then. He starved on the road in the beginning. My mom went with him and starved with him at first.
A fallen American trucker died and in return his state let him down.
I spoke with many attorneys and wrote every elected official I could think of. It didn’t matter. No one could do anything. I would have been satisfied that her case was at least heard. What happened to my mom is so rare with the age difference. Still, it was considered unimportant. I must have bookmarked this page years ago. So I felt like commenting.