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Timely analysis, written to the same standard as the reference pages: every figure carries its statute and effective date, every quote was read from a primary source, and an attorney reviewed each piece before the byline rendered. When the law moves, these pages say what moved, when, and what it changes for an injured worker.
Latest
2026-09-05 — What SB 171 actually changed in July · The 2026 temporary disability rates — and which year's rate you get · The 75-day presumption's two-piece range
What changed in the law
What SB 171 actually changed in July 2026 →
One bill, two big moves: SIBTF was rewritten retroactively, and § 5909's transmittal trigger became permanent — twelve days after most published material announced the opposite. We were among them; the correction is logged.
The 75-day presumption, drawn →
§ 5402(b)(2)'s section range is written in two pieces on purpose — it steps around the COVID-19 presumptions — and its sibling § 5414.3 is written unbroken. The difference decided real deadlines.
Rates & money
The 2026 temporary disability rates — and which year's rate you get →
$264.61 minimum, $1,764.11 maximum — but the interesting rule is which year applies. Date of injury controls for life, except for § 4661.5, the self-executing raise on delayed claims that carriers routinely fail to pay.
The mileage rate changed mid-year. Which rate does your trip earn? →
72.5¢ through June 30, 76¢ from July 1 — by date of travel, not date of injury. The rule most reimbursement checks get wrong, and the arithmetic for a list that spans the change.
Why a repaired rotator cuff can rate zero →
The AMA Guides contain no impairment value for a rotator cuff tear at all. What actually carries value in a shoulder rating, and what to check before accepting a number that feels impossible.
How the system actually works
When you don't need a lawyer →
The free state I&A officer handles more than most firms admit. An honest map of which problems the state resolves free, which are worth a consultation, and which have clocks that forgive nothing.
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.
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