The New Hampshire Supreme Court recently ruled that adding a dependent to an existing workers’ compensation death benefits claim is not a separate claim and has no time limit for doing so. This decision came after Maia Beh, the widow of Gilbert Menke, appealed a ruling from the New Hampshire Compensation Appeals Board (CAB) that denied her request to be recognized as a dependent for benefits.
Gilbert Menke passed away from a work-related injury on July 13, 2016. He left behind his widow, Beh, and their daughter. Although Beh was not officially married to Menke at the time of his death, she became his common law spouse afterward. Their daughter’s claim for death benefits was approved within a year of Menke’s passing, but Beh delayed filing her claim while waiting for a probate court to confirm her marital status.
The CAB initially denied Beh’s request, arguing that it constituted a new claim barred by a three-year statute of limitations. Beh took her case to the state Supreme Court, which examined whether the CAB was correct in its interpretation of the workers’ compensation law. The law states that benefits must be claimed within three years of the injury, but the court found that this did not apply to each dependent individually if a claim had already been filed.
The court sided with Beh, stating that the initial claim for benefits by any dependent suffices for all dependents to seek benefits later. They clarified that as long as one dependent files a timely claim, other dependents can still request benefits under that claim, regardless of when they do so.
Justice James Bassett wrote the opinion, which was supported by Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald and Justices Patrick Donovan and Melissa Countway. Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi participated in the oral arguments but did not vote on the final decision.
This ruling clarifies the rights of dependents in workers’ compensation cases and ensures that families can access benefits without being hindered by strict time limits when a claim is already open.