If you've been injured at work, California law entitles you to medical treatment, disability payments, and rehabilitation — regardless of who was at fault.
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Overview
Under California's workers' compensation laws, employees injured at the workplace or while on the job are entitled to compensation for their injuries and full medical and rehabilitative care, without regard to fault. These protections extend across federal and state laws, including longshoreman's laws and the Jones Act covering sailors. Whether your injury happened on a construction site, in a warehouse, behind the wheel, or at a desk, the system is designed to get you medical treatment and income while you recover.
But the system doesn't always work the way it should. Insurance carriers deny claims, delay treatment authorizations, and offer lowball disability ratings. Employers push injured workers back to the jobsite before they're ready. The paperwork alone — DWC-1 forms, QME panels, utilization review — can be overwhelming when you're dealing with pain and lost wages at the same time.
That's where we come in. Arns Davis Law's workers' compensation team handles every stage of the process: filing your claim, securing medical treatment with doctors who actually listen, challenging unfair denials, and fighting for the full disability rating you're owed. We know the system inside and out because we've been doing this for over 40 years.
Just as important, we know when your case is bigger than workers' comp alone. If a third party — a negligent contractor, a defective piece of equipment, an unsafe property condition — contributed to your injury, you may be entitled to additional compensation through a civil lawsuit. Most firms handle one or the other. We handle both, and we manage the interplay between the two systems so you don't leave money on the table.
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The DWC-1 is the official California form used to file a workers' compensation claim. You should fill out the employee portion and give it to your employer as soon as possible after your injury — ideally within 30 days. Your employer is legally required to provide you with this form within one working day of learning about your injury. Filing the DWC-1 is what formally opens your claim and triggers your employer's obligation to provide benefits.
It depends. If your employer has a Medical Provider Network (MPN), you may be required to see a doctor within that network, at least initially. However, you can pre-designate your own personal physician before an injury occurs by notifying your employer in writing. If you've pre-designated, you can see your own doctor from the start. After 30 days in the MPN, you may also have the right to switch physicians. An experienced workers' comp attorney can help you navigate these rules.
Workers' compensation is a no-fault system — you get benefits regardless of who caused the injury. But if someone other than your employer contributed to your injury (a negligent contractor, a defective product manufacturer, a dangerous property condition), you may also have a civil lawsuit against that third party. A civil case can recover damages that workers' comp doesn't cover, including pain and suffering. At Arns Davis, we handle both the comp claim and the civil case so the two work together.
In California, you generally have one year from the date of injury to file a workers' compensation claim. For cumulative trauma injuries (like repetitive stress or long-term exposure), the one-year clock starts when you knew or should have known the injury was work-related. Don't wait — delays can jeopardize your benefits and your ability to get medical treatment covered.
No. Workers' compensation attorneys in California work on a contingency basis, and attorney fees are set by the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. You pay nothing out of pocket. The fee comes from your award, not from your wallet.