Hurt at work? How to get workers comp, with or without papers

This page is general information, not legal or medical advice. If your pay while you recover is the main question, see also Workers' comp pay while you recover.

What counts as a work injury?

Workers' compensation covers injuries and illnesses caused by your job, or made worse by it. That includes:

• A sudden injury, like a fall, a cut, a burn or a back injury while lifting
• Harm that builds up over time, like pain from the same movement every day
• Illness from work conditions, like heat illness or breathing in chemicals

It is a no fault system. You can get benefits even if the accident was your fault. In return, you usually cannot sue your employer in court for the injury.

Can I get workers' comp without papers?

Yes. California's workers' compensation law defines an employee as a person in service to an employer "whether lawfully or unlawfully employed." The Department of Industrial Relations says every worker in California has rights regardless of immigration status, and that injured workers are eligible for workers' compensation benefits for work related injuries.

Being paid in cash does not change this. Neither does your employer calling you a contractor if you were really an employee. If that is your situation, ask a clinic or the Information and Assistance Unit for help.

What should I do first?

Do these in order. Each one protects your claim.

1. Get medical care. In an emergency, call 911 or go to the emergency room. Tell the doctor you were hurt at work.
2. Tell your employer in writing. Tell your supervisor or employer today if you can, and keep a copy or a photo of what you gave them. A text message to your boss is better than nothing. The state warns that if your employer does not learn of the injury within 30 days, and that blocks a full investigation, you could lose your right to benefits.
3. Ask for the DWC 1 claim form. Your employer must give it to you, or mail it, within one working day after learning about your injury or illness.
4. Fill out your part and give it back. Your employer must date it and give you a copy within one working day after you return it. If you never return the form, you may risk your benefits.
5. Keep everything. Save the form, medical papers, receipts and notes of who you spoke to and when.

What can workers' comp pay for?

There are five basic benefits:

• Medical care for your work injury
• Temporary disability pay while you cannot work. As a general rule, it pays two thirds of the gross (before tax) wages you lose while you recover. Payments begin when your doctor says you cannot do your usual work for more than three days. For injuries in 2026, the weekly amount is at least $264.61 and no more than $1,764.11.
• Permanent disability pay if the injury leaves you with a lasting disability that lowers your ability to earn
• A return to work voucher for retraining. For injuries on or after January 1, 2013, it is $6,000 for workers who qualify.
• Death benefits for the family if a worker dies from a job injury

How much you get depends on your wages and your injury. If you were paid in cash, your notes about your hours and pay help prove your wages.

Who picks my doctor?

For the first 30 days, your employer usually chooses the doctor who treats you. There are two exceptions:

• You named your own doctor in writing before you were hurt. This is called predesignating your doctor. It works only in some situations, such as when your employer offers group health insurance.
• Your employer uses a medical provider network. That is a group of doctors set up by the insurance company. You usually choose from that list.

After the first 30 days, there are ways to change doctors. The Information and Assistance Unit can explain your options.

Go to every appointment, and tell the doctor about every symptom, even small ones. What the doctor writes down shapes your claim.

What happens after I file?

The insurance company, or the claims administrator, reviews your claim. If it does not send you a letter denying your claim within 90 days after you filed the claim form, your claim is considered accepted in most cases.

Watch your mail. Open every letter from the insurance company and keep it. If a letter says your claim is denied, or your pay or treatment is stopping, get help right away. A denial is not the end. You can challenge it at the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, and free help is listed below.

Watch the one year limit. The law generally gives you one year to start a case at the Appeals Board, counted from the latest of: the day you were hurt, the last day you got disability payments, or the last day you got medical treatment paid by workers' comp (Labor Code 5405). For an illness or an injury that builds up over time, the law counts the date of injury as the day you first lost work time or ability because of it and knew, or should have known, that your job caused it (Labor Code 5412). Ask the Information and Assistance Unit or a workers' comp lawyer for your exact date, and do not wait until the end.

If your employer offers you lighter work. When the doctor says you can do some work, your employer may offer modified or other work. The Division of Workers' Compensation says you may have only 30 days to accept that offer, and if you do not answer or you turn it down, you will probably lose the return to work voucher (DWC FAQ). Temporary disability pay generally stops when you go back to work or the doctor releases you. If you are unsure whether you can safely accept, or whether the job offered matches your doctor's limits, call I&A or a clinic before the 30 days run out.

Travel to medical visits. The Information and Assistance page links to a medical mileage expense form, in English and Spanish (I&A page). Keep a log of every trip, with the date, address and miles, and ask I&A how to submit it.

Things to avoid:

• Waiting to see if the pain goes away before you report it
• Telling only a coworker, and not your supervisor
• Signing papers you do not understand. Ask for an interpreter.
• Agreeing to settle your case before you talk with someone you trust about what it is worth

What if my employer has no workers' comp insurance?

Most employers in California must have workers' compensation insurance. If yours illegally does not, you still have a path. A special unit of the Division of Workers' Compensation, the Uninsured Employers' Benefit Trust Fund, may pay benefits to workers hurt while working for an illegally uninsured employer. The state then goes after the employer.

These cases take more steps. Call the Information and Assistance Unit at 1-800-736-7401, or a clinic, for help.

What if my boss punishes me for asking?

It is illegal for your employer to treat you worse because you asked for workers' compensation. That includes firing you, cutting your hours or threatening you.

An employer also may not use immigration to punish you. Under California law, contacting immigration, or threatening to, as payback for using your rights is illegal. You usually have one year to file a retaliation complaint with the Labor Commissioner. See Your rights at work.

If your injury left you with a lasting condition, you may also have a right to changes at work. See Ask for changes at work because of a disability.

What if I cannot work at all right now?

If temporary disability pay has not started, or does not cover your bills:

• Ask the claims administrator, in writing, when your first payment will come.
• Use paid sick days if you have them.
• If you lost your job, see Lost your job and cannot get unemployment? for food, health care and other help for your family.

Who can help?

These are public offices and nonprofit clinics. Contact them to confirm hours, languages and openings. Being listed here is not a referral or a promise of service.

• Division of Workers' Compensation, Information and Assistance Unit: explains your rights and helps with forms. Call 1-800-736-7401 on weekdays, with phone interpreters. Nearby offices:
  • San Jose: 224 Airport Parkway, Suite 600, (408) 277-1292
  • San Francisco: 455 Golden Gate Ave., 2nd Floor, (415) 703-5020
  • Oakland: 1515 Clay St., 6th Floor, (510) 622-2861
• Legal Aid at Work: a free and confidential workers' rights clinic for people within its income limits, or age 60 and over, in Spanish and many other languages. East Palo Alto line: (415) 404-9093. Workers' Rights Clinic
• California Labor Commissioner: retaliation complaints and unpaid wages, with phone interpreters. 833-526-4636.

More options: Free help with a work problem in the Bay Area.

Questions people ask

Do I need a Social Security number to file? The law covers you either way. If a form asks for a number you do not have, do not make one up. Ask the Information and Assistance Unit or a clinic what to write.

Can I see my own doctor? Only in some cases, such as if you named your own doctor in writing before the injury. Otherwise your employer usually picks for the first 30 days.

My boss says to use my own health insurance or Medi-Cal instead. A work injury should go through workers' comp. Report it and ask for the DWC 1 anyway.

My boss offered me cash to not report it. You do not have to accept. Report the injury in writing and get help. Cash now may not cover care you need later.

I was hurt months ago and never reported it. Report it now, in writing, and get help right away. Waiting can hurt your claim, but it may not end it.

Is there a checklist I can print?

You were hurt doing your job. Taking care of your body and your claim is not asking for a favor. It is your right. We hope you heal well.