How this injury happens at work.
- Pallet jacks and forklifts running over the foot
- Dropped loads and materials
- Nails, rebar, and debris punctures
- Standing on concrete for full shifts
- Falls and missteps from equipment
The injuries we see.
- Metatarsal and toe fractures
- Crush injuries
- Puncture wounds and infection
- Plantar fasciitis and heel spurs from standing work
- Toe amputation
- Lisfranc injury
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.
Imaging, immobilization, surgical fixation, and podiatry follow-up. Custom orthotics and footwear are medical treatment when prescribed. Standing restrictions are common and matter for the rating.
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
Defective footwear supplied by a vendor, or equipment operated by another contractor, can add a defendant.
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 motion, gait, and amputation schedule where applicable. Lisfranc and crush injuries can produce permanent restrictions on standing and walking.
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.
- Treating a crush injury as a bruise and closing the file
- Denying orthotics and footwear
- Ignoring infection risk from punctures
- Calling plantar fasciitis non-industrial
Questions we hear first.
Is plantar fasciitis from standing all day covered?
It can be. Standing work on hard floors that causes or aggravates plantar fasciitis is a cumulative trauma claim; the medical opinion on causation decides it.
A pallet jack ran over my foot. What now?
Get imaging the same day, report it in writing, and ask for the DWC-1 claim form. Crush injuries are routinely under-treated at first.
Will workers’ comp buy me work boots or orthotics?
When prescribed by the treating physician as reasonably required, yes — they are medical treatment.
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.