Workers compensation programs provide benefits for workers who are accidentally injured by or through the course of their employment. These programs typically provide financial benefits for workers who are so injured, including necessary medical care and compensation for at least a portion of the worker's lost wages. An essential portion of any workers compensation benefits package, however, is survivor benefits. Thus, workers compensation wrongful death benefits are available for the surviving family members of a worker who is accidentally killed in the course of employment, independent of any civil wrongful death lawsuit that may be brought in the case of an accidental death. Survivor benefits from workers compensation typically include reimbursement of funeral expenses, as well as direct financial benefits payable to the immediate surviving family members of the decedent. However, receiving workers compensation-based survivor benefits does not prohibit surviving family members from filing an independent wrongful death lawsuit in a situation where an employer's negligence has led to an employee's accidental death.