Insurer Attempt to Recover Death Benefits from Widow, Foiled

The Supreme Court of North Carolina has determined that an insurer that paid death benefits on behalf of an employer to the family of a South Carolina-based driver who was killed in a car accident in his home state can’t recover the proceeds from a wrongful death lawsuit, because South Carolina prohibits such a recovery. The case is Walker v. K&W Cafeterias, No. 99PA19, 2020 N.C. Lexis 692 (Aug. 14, 2020).

In May 2012, Robert Lee Walker was killed in a work-related accident, while working for K&W Cafeterias. Walker lived in South Carolina and the company he worked for, K&W Cafeterias, was based in North Carolina. After his death, his widow filed a workers’ compensation claim with the North Carolina Industrial Commission for medical expenses and death benefits. She was awarded $333,763.