“I can’t wait two years.”

1. The $10,000 in treatment

§ 5402(c): within one working day after you file the claim form, the employer must authorize treatment and keep it authorized until liability is determined — up to $10,000.

It applies while the claim is delayed or undecided. A rejection ends it.

Ask for it in writing and cite the section. More.

2. Temporary disability, on time, with the 10%

§ 4650: the first payment is due within 14 days of the employer’s knowledge of the injury and disability, and every payment thereafter every two weeks.

§ 4650(d): a late payment is increased 10% automatically — “without application.” You do not have to ask. It routinely is not added. How to check.

3. An expedited hearing

Once some injury has been accepted, an expedited hearing is available for urgent disputes over temporary disabilityTD / TTD / TPD Temporary Disability, Total or Partial. Wage replacement while recovering. Two-thirds of average weekly earnings; 2026 maximum $1,764.11/week., and over treatment outside utilization reviewUR Utilization Review. The process that approves, modifies, or denies each treatment request. A modification is a denial of what it left out. — and it is heard in person, not on paper.

This is the mechanism people do not know exists. A stalled treatment authorization or a wrongly stopped benefit does not have to wait for the ordinary calendar. How hearings work.

4. Force the calendar with a DOR

Nothing in this system moves on its own. A Declaration of Readiness to ProceedDOR Declaration of Readiness to Proceed. Forces the calendar. You have 10 calendar days to object, or objections to proceeding on its issues are waived. — filed by either side — sets a mandatory settlement conferenceMSC Mandatory Settlement Conference. Where most cases end — and where discovery closes. in 10 to 30 days and, if the case does not resolve, trial within 75 days. The full timeline.

5. Permanent disability advances

Once there is a basis for a rating, permanent disabilityPD Permanent Disability. Compensation for lasting impairment. A different and much lower weekly rate — 2026 maximum $290/week. is generally payable in advance of a final award rather than held until everything is resolved. Ask.

And the bridges outside the system

EDD State Disability Insurance, if your claim is denied or delayed. But EDD is entitled to reimbursement out of any later workers’ compensation recovery for the same period. It is not free money — and that is a concrete reason to press the claim rather than settle into SDI for a year. What comes out of your settlement.

Your own health insurance, as a bridge. It may assert a lien against your recovery — a manageable problem. Being untreated is not.

And for public employees: The law provides listed public safety classifications up to a year of full salary, and Education Code §§ 44984 and 45192 give school employees at least 60 days of industrial accident leaveIndustrial accident leave At least 60 days at full salary for school employees. at full salary. More. · School employees.

What not to do

Do not take a Compromise and ReleaseC&R — Compromise and Release A lump sum that closes future medical treatment permanently. just to end the wait. It closes future medical permanently, and in any case involving a device, a joint replacement, ongoing medication, or a progressive condition, that decision cannot be undone. Why.

A settlement taken under financial pressure is the most expensive decision in this system, and it is the one the timing is designed to produce.