On this page
Read the title first
| If it says | What it is |
|---|---|
| Compromise and Release | A lump sum that closes future medical treatment permanently. Read every word. |
| Stipulations with Request for Award | An agreed permanent disability percentage. Future medical stays open. |
| Medical release / authorization | Access to your records. Usually routine — check the scope. |
| Resignation, separation, or severance agreement | Employment, not workers’ comp — and it may waive claims that are worth more than your comp case |
| General release / settlement of all claims | Stop. This can waive employment claims, civil claims, and more |
| DWC-1 claim form | Sign this one. It starts your claim and two clocks that protect you |
The three that need real caution
Compromise and Release
It closes future medical treatment forever. In any case involving a prosthesis, an implanted device, a joint replacement that will need revision, ongoing medication, or a progressive condition, that decision should not be made without a lifetime cost projection. Why.
And a judge must approve it and find it adequate — 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.
A separation or severance agreement
This is not a workers’ compensation document, and it may be the more valuable one.
If you were let go after an injury, you may have a § 132a claim and — usually larger — a FEHA disability discrimination claim, which has no $10,000 cap and provides emotional distress damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees. A severance agreement typically waives all of it. Both routes.
Do not sign a severance agreement after a work injury without having it read.
An open-ended medical release
A release should be limited to the injured body parts and a relevant time period. A blanket authorization for your entire lifetime medical history hands the defense every prior complaint in your file to use for apportionmentApportionment Dividing permanent disability between industrial and non-industrial causes. It is to disability, not to findings on an image..
Narrowing it is normal and it is usually accepted.
What you should sign
The DWC-1DWC-1 The claim form. Filing it starts the 90-day presumption and the $10,000 treatment obligation. claim form. Fill out the employee section, sign it, date it, deliver it, and keep a copy showing the date. That date starts the 90-day presumption and the $10,000 treatment obligation.
Not signing does not protect you. It just means no clock is running.
Before you sign anything
Take a photograph of every page, including the ones you are told are boilerplate.
Ask for time. A legitimate offer survives a few days.
Ask what it closes — in writing.
And have it read. A review costs nothing, and it is the difference between a settlement and a settlement you did not understand.
Something is about to be decided
Ratings, offers, conferences, and the documents that end a case.
Sources
Labor Code § 132a§ 5001§ 5401§ 5402(b)§ 5402(c)Government Code § 129408 CCR § 10700(b)
Labor Code § 6401.9 (SB 553), operative July 1, 2024 — workplace violence prevention in general industry8 CCR § 3342 (workplace violence prevention in health care) — Cal/OSHA
Internal Revenue Code § 104(a)(1); IRS Publication 525 — workers’ compensation exclusion and the Social Security offset exception
Escobedo v. Marshalls (WCAB en banc)California Insurance Guarantee AssociationWCIRB coverage inquiry
General information about California law, not legal advice about your case.
Reviewed by Jamey Teitell, Partner & Trial Attorney · Last reviewed
Law Offices of Solov & Teitell, APC · (213) 380-9310
Printed from https://www.solovteitell.com/answers/they-want-me-to-sign-something/ · Last reviewed