Recent Settlements & Awards
$400,000.00 Oklahoma Death Benefit Settlement For Disabled Adult Child Of Deceased Truck Driver
Oklahoma tank truck driver failed to properly negotiate a curve causing the truck to overturn crushing and killing the driver. The driver was not married and had only one child—who was in his thirties and arguably disabled by a rare genetic condition.
Although the deceased driver’s employer and its Oklahoma workers’ compensation insurance company admitted liability for the accident, they both vehemently denied that the deceased driver’s son was disabled, and even if he was disabled denied that the child was otherwise entitled to a death benefit under Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation law. The second argument was premised on the undisputed fact that the deceased driver had never provided any financial (much less emotional) support for his child during his lifetime. In fact, the driver had been in prison for virtually his whole adult and his child’s entire lifetime. To be sure—the deceased worker had never once paid child support to the child’s mother.
It was the employer’s argument that compensation in this case should not be ordered paid since the deceased worker had never himself supported the child so there was no obligation for his employer and its carrier to do so upon his death. The case proceeded to hearing and the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation judge found that the child was indeed disabled and, regardless of whether the deceased driver provided to him any support, the Oklahoma workers’ compensation law would consider him a dependent legally entitled to a statutory death benefit as he, according to the court, was “physically and mentally incapable of self-support”. With this the Court ordered that weekly compensation be paid to the child as long as he was both alive and still disabled. It should be noted that the child’s genetic condition could certainly result in him not having a normal life expectancy as one without this rare medical condition.
Following hearing the case settled for $400,000.00. Attorney M. Scott Ash represented the adult child through his mother, who was appointed as his guardian by the Court.
