The family of an employee may receive death benefits when the employee's death is the result of a compensable injury or occupational disease pursuant to the North Carolina Workers' Compensation Act. To obtain workers' comp benefits, the death must occur within six years of the injury, or two years of the final determination of disability, whichever is later. Benefits will be paid for a period of 400 weeks from the employee's date of death.

Under the Workers' Comp Act, the surviving spouse may be entitled to continued benefits, beyond 400 weeks, if the spouse can establish some physical or mental disability. A surviving dependant child is entitled to benefits until the age of 18 or 400 weeks, whichever is longer.

The North Carolina Workers' Compensation Act lists those who are entitled to death benefits in a particular order. Those who were wholly dependent on the deceased employee for support are entitled to receive the entire benefit to the exclusion of all other people. There is a presumption that the surviving spouse and minor children are wholly dependent.

If no one was wholly dependent on the deceased employee for support, any people who were partially dependent on the earnings of the deceased are entitled to receive partial benefits in a manner that correlates with the amount of support they received each month. If no one is partially dependent the deceased employee's next of kin is entitled to receive benefits under the act.

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