“TRISTAR is handling my claim. Who are they?”

Who TRISTAR is

A third-party administrator. TRISTAR’s website describes the company as offering “the scale and resources of a national TPA,” meaning a third-party administrator.

It is on the state’s list, under two names. The Office of Self-Insurance Plans’ list of third-party administrators, dated July 31, 2026, includes TRISTAR Claims Management Services, Inc., with California locations in Signal Hill, Chino Hills, San Diego, Fresno, Rancho Cordova and Concord, and TRISTAR Risk Management, with locations in Signal Hill, San Diego, Fresno, Rancho Cordova and Concord. A company that administers or adjusts self-insured employers’ claims must hold a Certificate to Administer, with listed exceptions.

What that means for your claim

TRISTAR runs the claim. It does not fund it. A third-party administrator is an agent under contract to administer the claims of an insurer, a self-insured employer, a legally uninsured employer or a self-insured joint powers authority. The benefits are paid with the money of whoever hired it.

The examiner works for the payer, not for you. Every benefit notice must tell you that you have a right to disagree with decisions affecting your claim and a right to be represented by an attorney of your choice.

Your benefits do not change. The Labor Code’s benefits and deadlines apply the same way whoever administers the claim. Who is handling my claim?

How to reach your adjuster

Start with the notice. Every benefit notice must show your claim number and the name, telephone number and mailing address of the individual claims examiner responsible for your claim. Write to that person and put the claim number on everything you send.

TRISTAR’s published claims line. As of October 5, 2026, TRISTAR’s contact page lists its claims department at (888) 558-7478, which it also writes as 888-55TRISTAR. The same page says claimants looking for help with a claim should call the office closest to them, and lists branch offices by state.

Its claimant portal. In an August 19, 2026 announcement on its website, TRISTAR said claimants can reach their claim information through a phone’s web browser at claimant.tristarconnect.ai, with Spanish available at launch and document uploads.

The claim number is not the ADJ numberADJ number Your case number at the Appeals Board.. The ADJ number is the Appeals Board’s case number, and it exists only once an Application for AdjudicationApplication for Adjudication Opens your case at the Appeals Board. One year. has been filed. Look up your case

Which medical network applies

DWCDWC Division of Workers’ Compensation, part of the Department of Industrial Relations. Administers the system. Information Services Center: 1-800-736-7401.’s list names one TRISTAR network as applicant. DWC’s list of active Medical Provider Networks, as of July 8, 2026, shows TRISTAR Managed Care, Inc. as the applicant for the TRISTAR PLUS MPNMPN Medical Provider Network. Your employer’s list of physicians. After the first visit you may switch within it without permission. (MPN ID 2502).

Other networks carry TRISTAR’s name but belong to someone else. The City of Fresno, listed as a self-insured employer, is the applicant for the TRISTAR City Of Fresno MPN (0901). Several other networks with TRISTAR in their titles name employers or network companies as the applicant.

So the name does not tell you which network is yours. An insurer, an employer, or a company that provides physician networks may set up an MPN. Yours is the one your employer or its insurer uses.

Your MPN notice tells you. When an injury covered by an MPN is reported, the employer or its insurer must give you a complete written MPN notification, in Spanish as well if you primarily speak Spanish, with the MPN’s identification number, toll-free telephone access to the MPN contact, and the MPN website. If you never received one, ask for it in writing. How the MPN works

When nobody answers

Write, and keep a copy. A dated request with your claim number and a date for a response is what every remedy depends on. My adjuster won’t call me back

Late checks carry an automatic 10%, paid “without application,” with narrow exceptions. Unreasonable delay is increased up to 25 percent or up to $10,000, whichever is less with a two-year deadline from the date the payment was due. Late payments and penalties

Free state help. Every DWC district office has an Information & Assistance officer. The DWC Information Services Center is (800) 736-7401.