Background
Leroy Morford sustained an industrial injury in 1999 and received pension payments for permanent total disability. He selected Option I under RCW 51.32.067(1)(a), which provided benefits during his lifetime but did not continue benefits to a surviving spouse, children, or other beneficiary. Morford died on September 9, 2021, from causes unrelated to his industrial injury.
Unaware of Morford’s death, the Department of Labor and Industries continued making payments. It later ordered the beneficiary to repay benefits covering September 9 through October 15, 2021. The beneficiary argued that RCW 51.32.040(2)(a) entitled Morford to benefits through the day of his death. An industrial appeals judge granted summary judgment to the Department, and both the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals and the superior court affirmed.
The Court’s Holding
The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that RCW 51.32.040(2)(a) unambiguously permits payment only for periods before a worker’s death. Because the parties agreed that a partial month’s benefits are prorated by day rather than by hours, minutes, or seconds, the last compensable day was the day before Morford died.
The court also concluded that RCW 51.32.040 and RCW 51.32.067 operate consistently: a worker’s pension benefits stop the day before death, while survivor benefits under Options II and III begin on the day of death. Because the beneficiary did not prevail, the court denied attorney fees under RCW 51.52.130.
Key Takeaways
- Permanent-total-disability pension benefits payable for a period “before” death do not include the date of death.
- When benefits are prorated after a mid-month death, the relevant unit is a calendar day, not a smaller increment of time.
- A beneficiary who does not obtain a reversal, modification, or additional relief is not entitled to attorney fees under RCW 51.52.130.
Why It Matters
The decision establishes a clear cutoff for Washington industrial-insurance pension payments when a worker dies from causes unrelated to the industrial injury. The Department may treat the day before death as the final payable day and recover payments attributable to the date of death and later dates.
The opinion also harmonizes the statutory timing of worker and survivor benefits: pension payments end before the date of death, while qualifying survivor benefits begin on that date.