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If you get hurt or sick because of work, your employer is required by law to pay for workers' compensation benefits. Workers' comp insurance provides six basic benefits: medical care, temporary disability benefits, permanent disability benefits, supplemental job displacement benefits or vocational rehabilitation and death benefits.
Workers' compensation is the nation's oldest social insurance program: It was adopted in most states, including California, during the second decade of the 20th century. It is a no-fault system, meaning you don't need to prove your injury was someone else's fault in order to receive benefits.
The workers' compensation system is based on a trade-off between employees and employers. Employees are entitled to receive prompt, effective medical treatment for on-the-job injuries no matter who was at fault and, in return, are prevented from suing their employers over those injuries.
The vast majority of workers' compensation claims are resolved without any problems. However, sometimes a disagreement can arise between you and the claims administrator over issues such as whether your injury was sustained on-the-job or how much in benefits you are entitled to receive.
When a dispute like that arises, the Division of Workers' Compensation can help resolve it through its Information and Assistance Unit or by going before a judge at one of the division's 24 local offices.
Topics on this page include:
General information
Medical treatment information
Disability ratings
Returning to work
Injured on the job? Need to know your rights?
¿Se há lesionado en el trabajo? ¿Necesita saber sus derechos?
Need information or help resolving a dispute over benefits? Check out our fact sheets and guides for injured workers. The fact sheets and guides are available in English. Spanish version coming soon!
Necesita información o asistencia para resolver algun desacuerdo sobre beneficios? Consulte con nuestras Hojas de información y guías para trabajadores lesionados.
"Workers' Compensation in California: A Guidebook for Injured Workers," 2006
“Compensación del Trabajador de California: Una Guía para los Trabajadores Lesionados,” 2006
Glossary of workers' compensation terms for injured workers
Glosario de términos de compensación de trabajadores para trabajadores lesionados
Medical mileage expense form in English/Spanish 
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Simplified flow chart for claims process 
Diagrama simplificado para el proceso de reclamos
Reporting suspected medical care provider fraud
Late for court? Email us
More injured worker topics
Doctors in California's workers' compensation system are required to provide evidence-based medical treatment. That means they must choose treatments proven to cure or relieve work-related injuries and illnesses. Those treatments are laid out in a set of guidelines that provide details on which treatments are effective for certain injuries, as well as how often the treatment should be given and for how long, among other things. The state of California has adopted a medical treatment utilization schedule (MTUS)—the formal name for the state’s medical treatment guidelines—that includes the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine's (ACOEM) Practice Guidelines, Second Edition, plus guidelines for acupuncture. The Division of Workers' Compensation also has a committee that continuously evaluates new medical evidence about treatments and incorporates that evidence into its guidelines. Upcoming rulemaking on the MTUS will include chronic pain, elbow guidelines, postsurgical treatment guidelines and a new functional improvement report form. Copies of the ACOEM guidelines are available for review at your local DWC office. The ACOEM guidelines are also available at many law, university and public libraries.
Additionally, employers are required to have a program called utilization review (UR), which basically provides a way to double check that your doctor's treatment plan is sound. Check out our fact sheets and guides page and click on fact sheet A for more information on UR.
Many employees now have their workers' comp injuries cared for by a doctor in a medical provider network (MPN) or a health care organization (HCO). These networks of doctors are similar to health maintenance organizations (HMOs). If you are covered by an MPN your work injury will be taken care of by a doctor in the network unless you qualified to pre-designate your personal physician and did so prior to being injured.
Current list of approved medical provider networks by name of applicant 
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Current list of approved medical provider networks by approval date version version
More medical provider network topics
More HCO topics
You and/or the claims administrator might disagree with what your treating doctor says about your injury or treatment. There could be other disagreements over medical issues in your claim. A doctor has to address those disagreements. In that case you may be required to see a qualified medical evaluator, or QME.
Frequently asked questions about QMEs
QME database
Discipline unit
More QME topics
Most workers fully recover from job injuries but some continue to have medical problems. Permanent disability is any lasting disability that results in a reduced earning capacity after maximum medical improvement is reached. If your injury or illness results in permanent disability you are entitled to permanent disability (PD) benefits, even if you are able to go back to work. Check out our fact sheets and guides page and click on fact sheet D for more information on PD.
Permanent disability rating schedule - 2005
This schedule is effective for dates of injury on or after Jan. 1, 2005. This schedule will also be used to rate permanent disability in injuries that occurred before Jan. 1, 2005 when there has been either no comprehensive medical-legal report, or no report by a treating physician indicating the existence of permanent disability, or when the employer is not required to provide a notice to the injured worker under Labor Code section 4061
Permanent disability rating schedule - 1997
This schedule is effective for dates of injury on or after Apr. 1, 1997
Permanent disability rating schedule - 1988
This schedule is effective for dates of injury on or after Jul. 1988
More disability rating topics
Injured workers who return to the job as soon as medically possible have the best outcomes. They recover from their injuries faster and suffer less wage loss. Your decision about returning to work will be influenced by your doctor, your employer and the claims administrator. Communicate honestly and frequently with them for the best results.
If your doctor decides you cannot return to work while recovering from your injuries you cannot be required to go back to your job. Sometimes you can go back to your job with work restrictions if your employer is willing to make accommodations. For example, your employer may change certain parts of your job or provide you with new equipment.
Employers are also provided with incentives to get injured employees back to work as quickly as possible.
Click here for more information on returning to work.
More return to work topics
April 2009
