Death at Work: Workers’ Comp or Wrongful Death Claim?

Prosecutors charged Bumble Bee Foods and two managers after a worker was cooked to death in an industrial oven along with six tons of tuna. Plant Operations Director Angel Rodriguez and former safety manager Saul Florez could face 3 years in prison and the Bumble Bee could pay $1.5 million in fines for violating workplace safety standards. But what about the family of the man who died, Jose Melena? Does workers’ compensation cover death in the workplace? Or will survivors need to file a wrongful death claim? Death Benefits Melena, 62, was killed in 2012 and left behind six children and seven grandchildren. California’s workers’ compensation system, like that in many other states, provides death benefits to spouses, children, or other dependents if an employee dies in a work-related …