Article ID: 1f811bb8fa38de004b77aec96ea633cc4e4b21eedd29a4ffb07a866d10b0b5c0
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URL: https://www.businessinsurance.com/new-mexico-court-limits-death-benefits-for-firefighters-widow/
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New Mexico court limits death benefits for firefighter’s widow - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers New Mexico court limits death benefits for firefighter’s widow by Louise Esola Claims Disputes , Workers Comp Coverage , Workplace Safety Aug 21, 2026 A New Mexico appeals court ruled Wednesday that a firefighter’s widow is entitled to occupational disease death benefits but limited the award because state law caps combined disability and death benefits at 700 weeks. In Di Luzio v. City of Santa Fe , the New Mexico Court of Appeals ruled that Janet Di Luzio is entitled to 208 weeks of death benefits after her husband had already received 492 weeks of permanent total disability benefits. Frank Di Luzio worked as a firefighter for the city of Santa Fe for more than 20 years, eventually becoming fire chief. He was diagnosed in 2012 with Stage IV mantle cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, an occupational disease linked to his firefighting career under a statutory presumption and remained disabled until his death in June 2021 at age 66. The city had paid him $360,714.72 in disability benefits over 492 weeks. A workers compensation judge subsequently awarded his widow 700 weeks of death benefits at $733.16 per week, or $513,212, without reducing the award for benefits previously paid to her husband. That would have resulted in a combined 1,192 weeks of disability and death benefits totaling $873,926.72. The appeals court disagreed, finding that a 2015 amendment to New Mexico’s Occupational Disease Disablement Law imposes a 700-week aggregate limit on disability and death benefits, regardless of whether the benefits are paid to the worker or a surviving dependent. Because Mr. Di Luzio had already received 492 weeks of disability benefits, the court said his widow could receive only the remaining 208 weeks. The court rejected the city’s separate argument that the widow was barred from receiving any death benefits because her husband died more than two years after becoming disabled. The court said the two-year provision does not run from the date disability begins when a worker remains continuously disabled by the occupational disease until death. The court also declined to consider the city’s argument that another provision barred benefits because Mr. Di Luzio died more than three years after his last day of employment, finding the city failed to preserve the issue for appeal. The court remanded the case for an amended order awarding Ms. Di Luzio $733.16 per week for 208 weeks. Related News Conduit names former Aspen exec COO August 21, 2026 CK Hutchison files $1.5B Panama claim August 21, 2026 Ping An’s net income jumps 36% August 21, 2026 Evergrande founder sentenced to life, firms fined $2.4B August 21, 2026 IAG New Zealand posts lower profit August 21, 2026 Lower cat losses lift Bermuda reinsurers’ results August 21, 2026 Iran war deepens EU gas supply crunch August 21, 2026 The BI Top 10 for the week of Aug. 17, 2026 August 21, 2026 QBE eyes growth in data center insurance August 21, 2026 Facebook-f X-twitter Linkedin-in Business Insurance is a singular, authoritative news and information source for executives focused upon risk management, risk transfer and risk financing. Never miss important news: Become a Business Insurance Online subscriber today Subscribe Now Information About Us Contact Advertise Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions Copyright 2026. 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