3.6 Death Certificates

No determination about liability or compensation for Death may be made unless the delegate has been provided with a copy of the death certificate. It must be considered mandatory for death claims.

Death certificates are essential for two reasons:

• To validate the actual fact of the employee's death and provide the legal underpinning to any determination on compensation.
• In respect of its status as the official medical opinion on the cause of death (which of course must be demonstrated to determine whether a death is employment-related).

Provision of death certificates to validate a claim is analogous to the provision of a medical certificate demonstrating an injury for other classes of claim. It is the claimant's responsibility to provide that death certificate. Delegates should however provide reasonable assistance particularly where the dependant/claimant is either distressed or under some disability (i.e. is a child).