Dependency at Time of Injury, not Resulting Death, Determines Right to Survivor’s Benefits in Maine

Case File

The Supreme Judicial Court of Maine held that eligibility for workers' compensation death benefits hinges on dependency at the time of the injury, not at the time of death. Because the statute does not require ongoing dependency or marital status up to the date of death, the spouse’s subsequent divorce and remarriage did not extinguish her entitlement to benefits linked to the employee’s (her ex-husband’s) 1985 injury. 

Case/

/Brewster v. Warren, 2026 ME 81 (Me. 08/06/26)

What Happened?

In 1985, an employee of a paper manufacturing company slipped and fell at work and was injured. At the time, he was married to Carol Brewster. The couple divorced in 1997 with no spousal support award. Brewster remarried in 2011. Her ex-husband’s condition continued to affect him, ultimately causing his death in 2020. Following the employee's death in 2020, Brewster filed for death benefits under Maine’s Workers' Compensation Act as a dependent.

Rule of Law

Under Maine workers' compensation law, a former spouse is eligible to receive death benefits based on being a dependent at the time of the worker's initial injury. This is the case even if the couple subsequently divorced and the spouse remarried prior to the worker's death.

What the Court Said

The Supreme Judicial Court of Maine affirmed the appellate court’s decision, holding that the statute unambiguously ties eligibility for death benefits to dependency at the time of the injury, not the time of death. Because the statutory framework does not require ongoing dependency or marital status up to the date of death (unless explicitly provided by statute), Brewster's subsequent divorce and remarriage did not strip her of her entitlement to benefits linked to the injury that occurred during the former marriage. 

Takeaway

Employers and insurers can face death-benefit liability for decades after an initial workplace injury, even if the claimant's legal relationship to the worker ended long before the worker's death. Subsequent divorce and/or remarriage occurring between the date of injury and the date of death do not disqualify an individual from seeking death benefits tied to that original injury.

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