Death benefits in workers' compensation provide what support in the case of a worker's death?

Death benefits in workers' compensation are specifically designed to provide financial support to the dependents of a worker who dies as a result of a work-related injury or illness. This support is essential for families who lose their primary income earner due to a workplace incident. Death benefits typically include compensation that replaces lost income, covering the ongoing needs of surviving dependents such as spouses and children.

The focus of these benefits is on ensuring that dependents can maintain a reasonable standard of living in the aftermath of the death, which is often unexpected and financially devastating. Therefore, this option is the most directly relevant to the purpose of death benefits in the context of workers' compensation.

The other options, while important aspects of the workers' compensation system, do not pertain specifically to death benefits. Medical expenses coverage relates to costs associated with medical treatment for injuries, vocational rehabilitation services assist injured workers in returning to work, and permanent disability compensation is focused on compensating for long-term impairments due to an injury. Each serves distinct roles within the workers' compensation framework, but they do not address the needs of dependents following a worker's death due to a workplace accident or illness.