The clock started that day. Almost nobody finds out in time, and missing one deadline can end a case before it starts. Rony Barsoum leads the workers' compensation department at Employees First Labor Law — a California firm that represents employees only.
Report the injury to your employer within 30 days — in writing. File your Application for Adjudication with the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board within one year. The second one is the deadline people miss most.
Enter the date you were hurt and we'll show how long is left on each clock. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
This is a general guide, not legal advice. Exceptions exist — especially for injuries that build over time, continuing treatment, or an employer who never gave you the claim form. If a deadline has passed, ask before you give up on it.
Once your employer knows about the injury, they have one working day to give you the claim form. If nobody gives it to you, ask in writing and keep a copy. Lab. Code § 5401
Thirty days from the injury, or from when you knew work caused it. Telling a supervisor in the hallway leaves no record. Lab. Code § 5400
The claims administrator has 90 days from when you turn in the DWC-1 to accept or deny. Let it pass, and the law presumes your injury is covered. Meanwhile they must authorize up to $10,000 in treatment. Lab. Code § 5402
One year from the date of injury to file your Application for Adjudication. This is the one people miss most. Lab. Code § 5405
If someone other than your employer caused the injury, that case generally runs two years — and filing workers' comp does not stop this clock. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1
In California workers' compensation, attorney fees are approved by the board and come out of the recovery — typically 15%. No retainer, no hourly bill, no cost to find out where you stand.
The Labor Code names the benefits. Carriers tend to pay the cheapest one and quietly close the file. We pursue all of them.
All treatment reasonably required to cure or relieve the injury — no co-pay, no deductible, no lifetime cap. Utilization-review denials get contested through Independent Medical Review.
Two-thirds of your average weekly wage, within the statutory minimum and maximum, for up to 104 weeks while you recover. Late or short checks carry a self-imposed penalty — we make the carrier pay it.
A rating from the AMA Guides, adjusted for occupation and age, paid as a weekly benefit. The QME or AME report drives this number. We choose the doctor with care and cross-examine the report.
If your employer can't offer modified or alternative work, a $6,000 Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit voucher covers education, tools, and licensing — plus the Return-to-Work Supplement.
Fired, demoted, or pushed out for filing? Section 132a adds increased compensation, reinstatement, and lost wages — and often signals a separate employment case handled by EFLL's employment trial lawyers.
Insurers deny routinely — on timing, on prior medical history, on saying it didn't happen at work. Take it to the board, get an independent evaluation, and fight it. Denied claims get paid all the time.
A back strain, a crushed hand, a fall from a ladder — each carries different treatment, different benefits, and sometimes a second claim against someone other than your employer. Tap the body to see yours.
An anatomical map of the injuries we see most, and what each one means for your claim. Select a region to pull it apart.
For each one we'll show the injuries we see most, the claims that may be available, what treatment typically looks like, and the benefits in play.
Every denied claim, delayed check, and doctor "network" you're steered into is a decision made by someone whose job is to spend less on you. We read their playbook every day.
Almost every injured worker files a workers' compensation claim and stops there. Often there is a second case — and it is frequently worth more. Both run at the same time. You do not choose between them.
Benefits regardless of fault. Your employer cannot be sued — that immunity is the bargain.
A separate case against someone who is not your employer. The immunity does not reach the company that built the machine.
Rony runs the workers' compensation department at Employees First Labor Law, a California firm that represents employees only. The department handles claims across all seven of the firm's offices, and works alongside the firm's trial lawyers when a case also involves a responsible third party.
Rony has practiced workers’ compensation law exclusively since graduating from law school in 2003. He began on the defense side, representing insurance carriers and employers, before moving to represent injured workers only — which means he knows the carrier’s playbook because he once ran it. His results include multiple seven-figure settlements, most recently a $1,725,000 settlement for an injured worker.
His philosophy is simple: treat every client with respect, understand their struggles, and fight tirelessly to protect their rights.
Rony's profile on employeesfirstlaborlaw.com ↗
Injuries that build over time, continuing treatment, employers who never gave you the form — the exceptions are real. It's worth asking before you give up on it.
Plain answers to the questions we hear on nearly every first call.
No. Punishing an employee for filing or trying to file a workers' compensation claim is illegal in California, and it's a separate claim with its own compensation.
Lab. Code § 132aYes. California workers' compensation covers employees regardless of immigration status. State law says so expressly.
Lab. Code §§ 1171.5, 3351At first, usually yes — unless you designated your own physician in writing before the injury. After that there are paths to change doctors and to request an independent evaluation.
Lab. Code § 4600Attorney fees are approved by the board and come out of the recovery. You don't pay hourly and you don't pay up front.
Lab. Code § 4906Temporary disability is generally two-thirds of your average weekly wages, within a statutory minimum and maximum. It does not pay for pain and suffering — a civil case does.
Lab. Code § 4653A denial is not the end. Take the case to the board, get an independent medical evaluation, and fight it. Denied claims get paid all the time.
Lab. Code § 5402
Two of the three don't require a law degree. If you've worked in claims, in medical records, in a clinic, or on the carrier side, the skills transfer.
Free consultation. Nothing owed up front. If you'd rather speak Spanish, say so and we will.
