Under the California workers’ compensation law, if you are injured on the job, you are entitled to benefits that include:
- medical care – treatment for your injury,
- temporary disability – payment for loss of wages,
- permanent disability – payment for permanent loss of function, and
- job displacement benefits – payment for job retraining.
Medical treatment is directed by a treating doctor that is part of a Medical Provider Network. Medical care must go through Utilization Review, a review of appropriate treatment for each type of injury.
You are entitled to mileage reimbursement for medical care travel.
Temporary Disability
Temporary disability benefits are payments for your inability to work due to an injury. The rate is two-thirds of your average weekly wage.
These benefits are limited to 104 weeks within five years of the date of injury.
Permanent Disability
Permanent disability benefits are calculated based on the permanent loss of function on a 0 to 100% scale.
This is paid on a weekly basis for a set period of time depending on the level of disability. The maximum weekly rate is $290 a week.
Job Displacement Benefits
Supplemental job displacement benefits are for you if you cannot return to work after your condition has stabilized and is permanent and stationary. You receive a voucher for $6,000 for retraining.
You can receive additional benefits in the form of a penalty that the insurance company must pay for any benefit that is paid late based on Labor Code sections 4650 and 5814. The penalty can be up to 25% of the amount it is late in paying.
In this article, our California personal injury attorneys will explain:
- 1. What are the workers’ compensation benefits in California?
- 2. What medical treatment is covered?
- 3. What are temporary disability benefits?
- 4. What are permanent disability benefits?
- 5. Can I receive supplemental job displacement benefits?
- 6. When do late payment penalties apply?
An injured worker becomes eligible for California workers’ compensation benefits by filing a claim for a work injury.
1. What are the workers’ compensation benefits in California?
California workers’ compensation benefits include:
- medical treatment for your work-related injury
- wage loss or temporary disability benefits
- permanent loss of function or permanent disability benefits
- retraining or job displacement benefits
You become eligible for California workers’ compensation coverage by filing a workers compensation claim form for a work injury.
Before benefits are paid, the insurance company must decide if it is going to accept that there is a work injury. You will receive forms from the insurance company with its decision.
If you are not receiving benefits, you can file an Application for Adjudication of Claim, request a Mandatory Settlement Conference, and then a trial on the benefit being denied.
2. What medical treatment is covered?
California workers’ compensation benefits include medical treatment for your work injury.1 However, you must be treated by a doctor in a special network, called a Medical Provider Network (MPN).2
You receive a standardized level of care. All treatment in workers’ compensation is based on medical treatment guidelines that determine the frequency, duration, and appropriateness of all treatments commonly performed in workers’ compensation cases.3
All the MPN doctors must follow the medical treatment guidelines through a process called Utilization Review (UR).4 Medical treatment requests are sent to an independent physician that can
- approve,
- modify, or
- deny the treatment request.5
Your doctor will treat you until they believe that further treatment will not be effective. At this point, your doctor will write a report called a Permanent and Stationary Report.6
2.1. Mileage reimbursement
You are entitled to mileage reimbursement for travel to and from all medical appointments. This includes travel to pick up prescriptions.
Example: Candice is involved in an automobile accident while working as a delivery driver in Los Angeles.
She selects a treating doctor that is in the MPN of the workers compensation insurance of her California business owner employer. In addition to office visits, her doctor sends her for an MRI of her neck and for physical therapy. All the medical treatment is approved by Utilization Review.
Candice does not have to pay for any of the treatment.
She also submits mileage reimbursement requests totaling $170 to the insurance company for travel to and from her doctor’s office, physical therapy, the MRI appointment, and to pick up prescriptions.
3. What are temporary disability benefits?
Temporary disability benefits are payments for lost wages due to a work injury.
Temporary disability is a substitute for lost wages, replacing what you would have earned if you were not injured. 7
Temporary disability benefits are only paid once the insurance company agrees that your injury is work-related. If your injury is denied, no benefits will be provided by the insurance company.
To get California temporary disability benefits, a doctor must state that you cannot work due to your injury or are limited in the kind or amount of work, and your employer does not have modified work or light duty to offer you as an alternate.8 9
The treating physician will see you every 45 days and make recommendations about your work restrictions and ability to work.10
3.1. Payments
Payments of temporary disability are made every two weeks.11 The first payment should be made by the insurance company within 14 days of receipt of the medical report stating you cannot work at all or cannot work the number of hours you previously did.12
Temporary disability will end when:
- you return to work
- a doctor advises that you can return to work, or
- your condition stabilizes, and you become eligible for permanent disability benefits.13
California temporary disability benefits are limited to 104 weeks within a five-year period from the date of injury.14
3.2.Calculation
The amount of temporary total disability you receive is two-thirds of your average weekly wage (AWW).15
After calculating the temporary disability rate, the insurance company will check to see if it is below the minimum or above the maximum level set by the state.
The maximum and minimum amount of temporary disability you can receive changes each year based on a calculation of what California employers are paying their employees.16
Example: Alice suffers a fall at work and injures her hip. She goes to the doctor, and she is taken off work.
Alice made $1,000 a week at her job in the state of California. Her temporary disability rate is two-thirds of this, or $667.
Within 14 days of Alice going off work, the insurance company sends Alice a check for $1,334, which is for two weeks of temporary disability.
It will continue to send Alice temporary disability checks every two weeks until she goes back to work or is declared permanent and stationary.
3.3. Disputes
You may believe that you can’t work or that your doctor’s restrictions are incorrect. If that happens, you can request that a different doctor evaluate you and determine temporary disability status.17
4. What are permanent disability benefits?
Permanent disability benefits pay you for loss of future earning capacity due to the permanent effects of your work injury.18 19
Permanent disability is rated on a scale from 0 to 100%. If your disability rating is under 100%, you are considered partially disabled.20 You will be entitled to weekly payments for a set period of time.
If you are 100% disabled, you are regarded as permanently totally disabled.21 In this case, you are entitled to weekly payments at the temporary disability rate for the rest of your life.22
If your disability rating is between 70% and 99%, you are entitled to a life pension.23 After the weekly partial disability payments end, you will get an additional amount for the rest of your life due to the higher level of disability.
4.1. Rating
At some point, your treating doctor will state that you have reached permanent and stationary status. This means that your medical condition will not improve.
Since your condition has stabilized, your doctor can determine the level of permanent disability.
A permanent disability rating begins with your doctor determining a rating for each part of your body that was injured at work.
Once your doctor gives you an impairment percentage, it is converted into a permanent disability value. This is done using the California Permanent Disability Rating Schedule (PDRS).
Once there is a rating, it must be converted into a dollar value using a formula in the Labor Code.24
4.2. Rate
The California permanent disability rate is determined by calculating two-thirds of your average weekly wage.25 Though the maximum amount is much lower than most workers’ calculated rate.
Since 2014, the maximum permanent disability rate is $290 per week. 26
4.3. Payments
If an injury causes permanent disability, you should receive the first permanent disability payment within 14 days after the last payment of temporary disability. It cannot be paid while you are receiving temporary disability.
Even if the insurance company does not know the amount of permanent disability that you will ultimately receive, they should estimate it and make payments on that amount.27
Payments of permanent disability are made every two weeks.28
Example: Jesse has been off work for his back injury for 6 months. Jesse’s condition has not yet stabilized, but his doctor says he can go back to work.
The insurance company sends Jesse a form letter saying that it is ending temporary disability payments and estimates Jesse’s permanent disability at 5%.
Jesse begins receiving payments of $290 a week.
4.4. Disputes
If you believe that your doctor did not provide the correct permanent disability, you can request that a different doctor evaluate you to determine your status.29 This is called a med-legal examination.
If there are two competing medical reports on the level of permanent disability, there is the option of having a trial on the issue.
You can testify about your injury, and the judge will review medical reports and records, and decide the level of disability.
Injured workers that are not able to return to work are eligible for a $6,000 supplemental job displacement voucher.
5. Can I receive supplemental job displacement benefits?
If you are not able to return to work, you are eligible for a $6,000 supplemental job displacement voucher.30
To avoid a voucher, your employer must offer you regular, modified, or alternate work. The work must be:
- at least 85% of the salary of your prior job
- a reasonable commuting distance from your home31
- lasting at least 12 months
The offer has to be sent within 60 days of receiving a medical report that you are permanent and stationary. 32
The voucher can be used for:
- licensing and examination fees
- placement and resume services
- tools for training program
- computer equipment
Example: Bryan is a warehouse worker and he injures his shoulder at work. When his condition stabilizes, his doctor says Bryan is restricted in the activities he can do. He can only lift up to 15 pounds.
The employer doesn’t have any positions it can offer within those restrictions. Bryan cannot continue working with the employer but will get a $6,000 voucher to help him get a new job.
6. When do late payment penalties apply?
If any of the above benefits are not paid on time, you may get an additional penalty payment from the insurance company.
Penalties exist to:
- make any delayed payment costly to an insurance company
- avoid economic hardship for you by ensuring prompt payments33
Section 4650 penalty
California Labor Code section 4650 applies to late disability payments.
If an insurance company does not make temporary or permanent payments timely:
- the payment shall be increased by 10%34
The payment is considered late if:
- it is not made within 14 days of the start of the payments35
- if subsequent payments are not made every two weeks after that
Section 5814 penalty
Labor Code section 5814 applies to any payment of benefits.
If a payment to you has been unreasonably delayed or refused:
- it shall be increased by up to 25% of the amount delayed, or $10,000, whichever is less36
If your permanent disability payment is late, you will receive an additional 10%.37
Example: Tara has a work injury to her back. Her doctor says she cannot work for six weeks.
She should have received temporary disability payments of $700 per week for her lost wages. The insurance company did not make the payments until the end of the six weeks.
When the insurance company finally sent the payment for the six weeks of lost wages totaling $4,200, it also sent a check for a 10% penalty of $420.
6.1. Benefits are the focus of the California workers’ compensation system
The California workers’ compensation system is set up to provide benefits to you if you get hurt at work.
Insurance companies that provide benefits are set up as profitable companies first and providers of benefits second.
If you are not receiving benefits, it may not be because you do not have a valid claim, but because the insurance company is putting profits above all else.
Anytime benefits are delayed or denied, you must make every effort to claim the benefits you deserve.
Call us for help…
Contact us for help with your case.
For help with filing a workers compensation claim in California, completing workers comp forms or appealing a denial of benefits, contact us. Our firm helps police officers, firefighters and other workers to get compensation for their job-related injuries in California. (For cases in Nevada, please see our article on benefits to workers under Nevada workers compensation.)
Legal References:
- Cal. Lab. Code §4600.
- Cal. Lab. Code §4616(a)(1).
- Cal. Lab. Code § 5307.27(a).
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4616(e).
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4616(f).
- Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8 § 9785.3.
- Signature Fruit Co. v. Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, 142 Cal. App. 4th 790, 801.
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4658.7.
- Cal. Lab. Code § 6409.
- Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 9785(f).
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4650(c).
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4650(a).
- Signature Fruit Co. supra, at p. 801.
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4656.
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4653.
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4453(a)(10).
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4062.
- Signature Fruit Co. supra, at p. 802.
- Russell v. Bankers Life Co. (1975) 46 Cal. App. 3d 405, 419.
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4452.5(b).
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4452.5(a).
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4659(b).
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4659.
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4658.
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4658.
- https://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/WorkersCompensationBenefits.htm.
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4650(b)(1).
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4650(c).
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4061.
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4658.7(d).
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4658.1.
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4658.7(b)(1).
- State Compensation Insurance Fund v. WCAB (1998) 63 Cal. Comp. Cases 916, 921.
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4650(d).
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4650(d).
- Cal. Lab. Code § 5814(a).
- Cal. Lab. Code § 4650(d).