Supreme Court Strikes Limitations on Payment of Death Benefits as Unconstitutional

A divided Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down the Workers’ Compensation Act's limitation on the availability of benefits payable upon a worker’s death and allowed a worker's mother to proceed with a wrongful death claim. Case: Whipple v. Phillips and Sons Trucking LLC, No. 118360, 09/21/2020, published. Facts: Taylor Ray Borth worked for Phillips and Sons Trucking LLC. In October 2016, he was killed while working at an oilfield near Yukon. Borth was 23, unmarried, and without children. Procedural history: Borth’s mother filed a wrongful death action against Phillip...