Funeral and Burial Benefits Under Pennsylvania Workers' Comp

When a worker dies in a work-related crash, Pennsylvania's Workers' Compensation Act provides a benefit toward funeral and burial expenses — separate from, and in addition to, the weekly death benefits paid to dependents.

How Much Does Workers' Comp Pay for Burial?

Pennsylvania pays reasonable funeral and burial expenses up to a statutory maximum (currently up to $7,000). This is paid regardless of fault, so long as the death arose from a work-related injury. The benefit is intended to ease the immediate financial burden of a funeral at a time when families are least able to absorb it.

What the Burial Benefit Typically Covers

• Funeral home services and professional fees
• Casket or urn
• Cemetery plot, burial, or cremation costs
• Related, reasonable expenses of the funeral

How to Claim It

The burial benefit is part of the fatal-claim process. Families should keep every funeral-related invoice and receipt, and avoid signing away rights or accepting a quick, undervalued settlement from the insurer before understanding the full range of death benefits owed. As with weekly benefits, a fatal-claim petition generally must be filed within three years of the date of death.

Costs Families Often Overlook

Grieving families frequently focus only on the funeral bill and miss the far larger weekly death benefits — and, when someone else caused the crash, a potential wrongful death recovery that can dwarf the comp burial allowance. The burial benefit is important, but it is usually the smallest piece of what your family may be entitled to.

How We Help

Our firm makes sure the burial benefit is paid promptly and correctly, while also pursuing the weekly death benefits and, where applicable, a third-party claim. Attorney Michael Cardamone, a Certified Workers' Compensation Specialist, handles the comp side directly and coordinates any wrongful death case with our heavyweight Personal Injury colleagues.