How this injury happens at work.
- Falls onto the arm from ladders, docks, and stairs
- Repetitive tool use — construction, mechanics, food service, assembly
- Caught-in and crush incidents with machinery
- Burns from hot surfaces, steam, and chemicals
- Vibration from power tools
The injuries we see.
- Fractures of the humerus, radius, and ulna
- Lateral epicondylitis (“tennis elbow”) and medial epicondylitis
- Cubital tunnel syndrome
- Burns and deep lacerations
- Crush injuries and compartment syndrome
Report it, then file it.
California workers’ compensation runs on fixed deadlines, and the carrier will use every one you miss. Report the injury to your employer in writing, ask for the DWC-1 claim form, keep a copy of everything, and get to a doctor the same day if you can. The deadline calculator on our home page shows how long is left on each clock from your date of injury.
Treatment and your right to a doctor.
Casting or surgical fixation for fractures, occupational therapy, nerve conduction studies for entrapment, tendon release or ulnar nerve transposition where needed. Burns may require specialist wound care and grafting.
All treatment reasonably required to cure or relieve the injury is covered — no co-pay, no deductible, no lifetime cap. For the first 30 days you generally treat within the employer’s medical provider network unless you pre-designated your own physician; after that you can change treating doctors within the network, and disputes over diagnosis or disability go to a Qualified Medical Evaluator. Utilization-review denials can be appealed through Independent Medical Review within 30 days.
Two claims, not one.
Workers’ compensation
Medical care, temporary disability at two-thirds of your average weekly wage, permanent disability, and retraining. Your employer can’t be sued — that immunity is the bargain.
Whoever else caused it
Injuries caused by a machine without a guard, an interlock, or a proper warning point to the manufacturer — a product-liability case with no cap.
Both cases run at the same time. You do not choose between them, and the two-year civil statute keeps running whether or not the workers’ comp claim is filed.
Permanent disability and what it’s worth.
Rated on loss of motion, grip strength, sensation, and scarring. Dominant-arm injuries rate differently, so the evaluator must record which hand you use.
Once you reach maximum medical improvement, the treating physician or the medical-legal evaluator writes a report that is converted to a permanent disability rating and a weekly benefit. Cases then resolve by Compromise & Release for a lump sum, by Stipulated award with future medical care left open, or by trial before a workers’ compensation judge. If your employer can’t offer work within your permanent restrictions, you are also entitled to a Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit voucher for retraining and the Return-to-Work Supplement.
What the carrier will try.
- Returning you to full duty before the fracture has healed
- Calling epicondylitis a hobby injury
- Denying nerve conduction studies
- Ignoring scarring and burns in the rating
Questions we hear first.
Is tennis elbow covered by workers’ comp?
Yes, when work caused or aggravated it. Repetitive gripping, lifting, and tool use are classic causes, and it is filed as a cumulative trauma injury.
Do I get paid while my arm is in a cast?
If you can’t work, or your employer can’t accommodate one-handed restrictions, temporary disability pays two-thirds of your average weekly wage within statutory limits.
Who pays if a coworker’s mistake injured me?
Workers’ comp covers you regardless of fault. A coworker at the same employer usually can’t be sued, but employees of other companies on site can be.
General information about California law, not legal advice about your case. Statutes cited: Labor Code §§ 4600, 4650, 4658.7, 4906, 5400, 5401, 5402, 5405; Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1. Every case turns on its own facts — call for a free consultation.