 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Martin v. Beverage Capital Corporation3/25/1999
surer (appellants) maintained that the jury should be instructed that "if they should believe from the evidence `that the claimant received any support from any source other than from [her son] at the time of his injury'" then the claimant could not be found wholly dependent on her deceased son. Larkin, 183 Md. at 278, 37 A.2d at 342 (emphasis added).
In finding the claimant to be "wholly dependent" on her deceased son, we noted that while these words were not precisely defined under the Act, other jurisdictions had adopted what appeared to be the following universal rule as to their meaning:
"'Total dependency exists where the dependent subsists entirely on the earnings of the workman; but in applying this rule courts have not deprived claimants of the rights of total dependents, when otherwise entitled thereto, on account of temporary gratuitous services rendered them by others, or on account of occasional financial assistance received from other sources, or on account of other minor considerations or benefits which do not substantially modify or change the general rule as above stated.'" (Emphasis added). Larkin, 183 Md. at 280, 37 A.2d at 343 (quoting Bloomington-Bedford Stone Company v. Phillips, 116 N.E. 850, 852 (Ind. App. 1917)). See also Johnson v. Cole, 245 Md. 515, 520-21, 226 A.2d 268, 271 (1967)(stating that aid or benefits from other sources will not negate a finding of total dependency so long as they "do not substantially affect or modify [the dependent's] status toward the deceased employee").
In adopting the above rule, we stated that we "did not think that the legislature intended such an illiberal construction of the word `wholly' as contended ... by the appellants" and concluded that the Act "must be interpreted to effectuate its general purpose, and not by strict rules of construction." Larkin, 183 Md. at 282, 37 A.2d at 344.
Similarly, in Rosenthal, supra, we also found that the claimant was totally dependent on her deceased husband, even though she was employed at the time of her husband's death. In examining the particular facts of the case, as we are required to do pursuant to 9-679, we found that the claimant was working outside the home "because her boy was in the Navy and she was worried and wanted to occupy her mind ... until her son came home...." Rosenthal, 185 Md. at 423, 45 A.2d at 82. Therefore, we held that "the claimant's work was only temporary or occasional, and that her intention was to depend solely on her husband's income in the future as she had in the past. So finding, the jury could decide that there was total dependency within the meaning of the Act." Rosenthal, 185 Md. at 426, 45 A.2d at 84 (emphasis added). See also Harvey v. Roche & Son, 148 Md. 363, 129 A. 359 (1925) (recognizing that claimant, who though separated from her spouse at the time of his death but received monthly support money from him, could be found a total dependent even though she collected weekly rent from a boarder).
Thus, as the above cases illustrate, a claimant can be found totally dependent even though he or she has received occasional financial aid or benefits from sources other than the deceased employee. Later cases somewhat restricted the above holdings, however, with the development of the "consequential contribution" test, under which total dependency status may be denied to dependents who make a "consequential contribution" to their own support. Specifically, this test states that while a wholly dependent claimant "may receive temporary gratuitous services, occasional financial assistance or other minor benefits from sources other than the deceased workman ... he must not have had a consequential source or means of maintenan
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Maryland Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|