The claimant, the mother and next friend of
a minor child, established through paternity tests that her daughter was
the child of a worker who suffered a fatal injury. The Commission
ordered the defendant to split death benefits between the child and the
worker's surviving son.
After a worker suffered a fatal accident in
the course of his employment, the defendant paid death benefits to the
worker's minor son. The claimant, the mother and next friend of another
minor child, alleged her daughter was also the worker's child and was
entitled to death benefits as well. The claimant alleged she became
pregnant with her daughter as a result of her sexual relationship with
the worker. She successfully petitioned to have the worker's body
exhumed for DNA testing, and the test results indicated a 99.98%
probability that the worker fathered the child.
The arbitrator found the claimant's daughter
was the natural child of the worker and the half-sister of the worker's
minor son. Noting the worker had a legal obligation to support all of
his natural children, the arbitrator found the worker's minor son and
the claimant's daughter were both entitled to compensation for the
worker's death. The arbitrator allowed the defendant to credit past due
payments toward the payment of benefits from the claimant's daughter.
In affirming the arbitrator's decision, the
Commission noted payments to either child would cease when they reached
age 18, unless they enrolled as full-time students at an accredited
educational institution. Furthermore, the Commission ruled the benefits
could not, under any circumstances, exceed the sum of $250,000 or last
more than 20 years, whichever was greater. The Commission ordered the
defendant to pay death benefits for the claimant's daughter.
