"I want a different lawyer."

This is the most common misconception in this area, and it keeps people in representation they are unhappy with.

How it works

You file a Substitution of Attorney with the Appeals Board. The new attorney typically handles it.

Your former attorney may assert a lien for the value of their work. That lien comes out of the same single fee the judge approves — under § 4906, no attorney may demand or accept a fee until the Board has approved it, and the Board approves one fee for the case.

Your case does not restart. The ADJ number, the medical record, the panel, and every deadline carry over untouched.

Before you switch

Ask for a status update in writing. Some of what feels like neglect is a case that is genuinely waiting on a medical report — and some of it is not. The written answer tells you which.

Ask specifically: what is the next step, what is it waiting on, when is it expected, and what deadlines are pending.

And know that some things are outside anyone's control. A case cannot resolve on permanent disability until you are permanent and stationary. That is medicine, not effort. How long cases take.

Reasons to switch that are real

Nobody returns your calls or answers written requests.

Deadlines are being missed — a DOR objection window, an IMR request, a supplemental report never obtained.

Nobody has explained your rating or checked the rating string.

Nobody has looked at whether there is a third-party claim, a cumulative trauma claim, a SIBTF claim, or a § 4553 petition.

Or you are being pushed toward a Compromise and Release without a lifetime cost projection in a case with future medical needs. Why that matters.

And if you would rather not have a lawyer at all

You may represent yourself, and every DWC district office has a free Information & Assistance officer who helps with questions and forms. The DWC Information Services Center is 1-800-736-7401. Where the offices are.

Note one practical thing: at Bakersfield, an unrepresented worker cannot get past the lobby without an escort — call ahead. More.