Married Couple's Separation Does Not Preclude Surviving Spouse Benefits

​The Supreme Court of Iowa recently affirmed that the mere separation of a husband and wife, by itself, does not affect the right of a surviving spouse to workers' compensation benefits.

Almost two and a half years into an Iowa couple's marriage, the plaintiff left the marital home in search of employment elsewhere. She ultimately accepted a position in Cedar Rapids as a direct care provider with Linnhaven Inc. The plaintiff moved in with a family friend, while her husband and her son from a previous relationship moved to Manchester, where the husband worked. The husband and plaintiff never lived together again, but they remained in contact, supported each other financially and never sought a divorce.

A year after her move, the plaintiff was permanently and totally disabled as a result of a work injury and was awarded workers' compensation benefits. She died from an overdose of prescription medication approximately four years later.

When the husband filed a claim for burial expenses and death benefits as the surviving spouse, the plaintiff's employer and her insurer claimed he was not entitled to those benefits under Iowa law because he had willfully deserted his wife without any fault by her. The state workers' compensation commissioner agreed.

Iowa law states, "When death results from the workplace injury, the employer shall pay the dependents who were wholly dependent on the earnings of the employee for support at the time of the injury." Iowa law also establishes that a surviving spouse "shall be conclusively presumed to be wholly dependent upon the deceased employee" unless "it is shown that at the time of the injury the surviving spouse had willfully deserted the deceased without fault of the deceased, then the surviving spouse shall not be considered as dependent in any degree."

Describing the couple's marriage as unconventional, the court concluded that, at the time of the plaintiff's injury, the husband and the plaintiff had made a mutual decision to live apart. Mindful that the spousal desertion exception applies only if at the time of the plaintiff's injury the husband had willfully deserted the plaintiff without fault by the plaintiff, the court explained that it could not find that the husband intended to desert the plaintiff or that the plaintiff was without fault for their separation.

As support, the court emphasized that the plaintiff initiated the separation through her choice to leave her husband and son in the marital home in pursuit of work in a different part of the state. The plaintiff and her husband continued contact after she left. The husband's 2011 and 2012 tax filings listed his marital status as married filing separately, and the husband was continuing to financially support the plaintiff at the time of her injury.

Although the husband engaged in a romantic relationship with another woman during the separation, the court noted that there is no exception for adultery precluding a surviving spouse from receiving workers' compensation benefits. Accordingly, the court affirmed that there was not substantial evidence to support a finding that the husband deserted the plaintiff without fault by her.

Blasdell v. Linnhaven Inc., Iowa, No. 21-1968 (April 7, 2023).

Roger S. Achille is an attorney in Boston.