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The two structures
| What differs | Compromise and Release (C&R) | Stipulations with Request for Award (Stips) |
|---|---|---|
| Payment | Lump sum | Paid over time |
| Future medical | Closed permanently | Stays open |
| Reopening | Generally foreclosed | Available for new and further disability within five years of the date of injury |
These are not two prices for the same thing. A C&RC&R — Compromise and Release A lump sum that closes future medical treatment permanently. larger than a StipsStips — 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. offer may still be worth far less, because you are also selling your medical care.
Which one you signed is on the document. Look at the title.
When a C&R is usually wrong
In any case involving a prosthesis, an implanted device, a joint replacement that will need revision, ongoing medication, or a progressive condition, closing future medical without a professionally prepared lifetime cost projection is how a worker ends up paying for their own care later.
A young worker with a lower-limb amputation will need many prostheses over a lifetime. A knee replacement has a service life. A progressive lung disease gets worse by definition. Amputation. · Settlements.
When it can be right
Where future medical is genuinely limited, where you want to control your own care, where the case has intractable disputes, or where a lump sum solves a real problem.
It is a legitimate choice. It is just not a default.
Before signing, check
The rating stringRating string The row of numbers encoding your entire permanent disability calculation. Checkable arithmetic. — checkable arithmetic. How.
Whether anything is missing — a body part, a cumulative traumaCT — Cumulative trauma Injury from repeated exposure over time. The largest injury category in California and the least claimed. claim, the voucher, 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. (rewritten by SB 171 in July 2026), a third-party claim, a § 4553 petition, or unpaid § 4650(d) increases.
What comes out of it — attorney’s fees, medical liens, EDD reimbursement, child support, and any 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 gross is not the net. Every category.
And if you receive SSDI, how the settlement is prorated changes the size of the offset. Raise it before signing. More.
One true thing
A judge must approve any settlement and 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.
Related:
Something is about to be decided
Ratings, offers, conferences, and the documents that end a case.
Sources
Labor Code § 5410 (reopening for new and further disability within five years of the date of injury)§ 4553 (serious and willful misconduct — compensation increased one-half)§ 4650(d) (automatic 10% increases on late payments)SB 171 (Stats. 2026, ch. 83) (Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund, rewritten July 2026).
General information about California law, not legal advice about your case.
Impairment values described are from the AMA Guides, 5th Edition as applied under the California rating schedule; the Guides are a copyrighted medical text and figures here are summarized rather than reproduced. Your rating depends on your own examination findings.
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/what-is-a-compromise-and-release/ · Last reviewed