“They offered me a settlement. Is it enough?”

Check 1 — Which kind is it?

Stipulations with Request for AwardStips — Stipulations with Request for Award An agreed percentage paid over time, with future medical left open, and reopening available within five years of the date of injury. These are not two prices for the same thing. — paid over time, future medical treatment stays open, and the case can be reopened for new and further disability within five years of the date of injuryDate of injury For a cumulative or occupational disease claim, the law sets it as when you first suffered disability and knew or should have known it was work-related — not when the wear began. Almost every deadline runs off this..

Compromise and ReleaseC&R — Compromise and Release A lump sum that closes future medical treatment permanently. — a lump sum, and future medical treatment closes permanently.

These are not two prices for the same thing. A C&R that is larger than a Stips offer may still be worth far less, because you are also selling your medical care.

Check 2 — What is the rating, and is the string right?

Every permanent disabilityPD Permanent Disability. Compensation for lasting impairment. A different and much lower weekly rate — 2026 maximum $290/week. award is built on a rating stringRating string The row of numbers encoding your entire permanent disability calculation. Checkable arithmetic.. It is checkable arithmetic, and it goes wrong regularly — wrong occupational group, wrong age, a body part left out, an impairment converted incorrectly. How to read yours.

Check 3 — Does the money match the rating?

The percentage converts to weeks, the weeks convert to dollars, and the schedule is cumulative — higher ratings earn more weeks per point. Then permanent disability advances already paid are credited against it.

Check the credits. Overstated advances are one of the most common quiet errors in a settlement. The arithmetic.

Check 4 — Is anything missing from the claim?

• Every injured body part, including consequential ones
• A cumulative traumaCT — Cumulative trauma Injury from repeated exposure over time. The largest injury category in California and the least claimed. claim alongside the specific injurySpecific injury One identifiable event on one date.
• The job displacement voucher, if you did not return to work
• SIBTFSIBTF Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund. Pays where a pre-existing disability plus an industrial injury produce a substantially greater disability. Rewritten by SB 171 in July 2026., if you had a prior disability — and note SB 171 rewrote SIBTF effective July 2026 details
• A third-party claim against anyone other than your employer
• § 4553 serious and willfulSerious and willful +50%, and uninsurable, so the employer pays personally. 12 months., if the employer knew about the danger — 12-month deadline
• Penalties for late payments — the automatic 10% details

Check 5 — What does the future medical actually cost?

Only relevant to a Compromise and Release, and it is the whole question.

Add it up over your remaining lifetime: surgery you may need, injections, medication, physical therapy, a device or prosthesis that requires replacement, imaging, office visits.

In any case involving a prosthesis, an implanted device, a joint replacement that will need revision, ongoing medication, or a progressive condition, a C&R without a professionally prepared lifetime cost projection is how a worker ends up paying for their own care later.

Check 6 — Who else gets paid out of it?

Medical liens. Child support. Medicare’s interest, if you are or will soon be eligible — which may require a Medicare Set-AsideMSA — Medicare Set-Aside Funds allocated for future injury-related care where Medicare’s interest is involved. CMS reviews above $25,000 for current beneficiaries, or $250,000 with enrollment expected within 30 months.. The number you take home is not the number on the offer.

One thing that is true

A judge has to approve any settlement and must find it adequate, including for unrepresented workers. But the judge decides on the record in front of them — which is usually the defense’s record. A judge cannot value a body part nobody claimed.