Construction workers injured on the job
A general contractor, subcontractors and an equipment supplier may all be involved in a job-site accident. Your own employer's comp pays first, and another company's mistake can mean a second claim.
Questions about your case? Call (323) 656-9040.
Construction workers who get hurt on the job in Los Angeles are covered by workers' compensation, and nobody has to prove whose fault it was. That's the first claim. On a site where the general contractor, three subs and an equipment rental company all have people working, there's often a second one too, against whichever outside company caused the accident.
Who pays when five companies share the site
Your workers' comp claim goes against your own employer's insurance. It doesn't matter if you were cutting a corner, or if the foreman says you were. Comp doesn't ask.
A third-party claim is different. If a crew from another sub dropped something on you, an operator who works for a different company backed into you, or a ladder or scaffold failed because it was defective, Labor Code section 3852 keeps your right to sue that company. A third-party case can pay for things comp never does, like pain and suffering. Your employer's insurer may get repaid out of it, so the two need to be run together. Don't settle one without thinking about the other.
Sources: California Labor Code § 3852; DWC, Information for injured workers.
Falls, and everything else that goes wrong on a site
Falls are the big one: off ladders, scaffolds, roofs, open edges, through floor openings. Then there's getting hit by tools and material from above, getting caught in machinery or a trench wall, shocks from live circuits, and hands that meet a saw, a grinder or a nail gun. If you work around silica dust, fumes or solvents, the damage can show up in your lungs years later.
And some of it is just the work itself. Twenty years of tying rebar, kneeling on slab and carrying sheet goods wears out knees, shoulders and backs. Hearing goes after years next to loud equipment. Those build-up injuries are covered too. They're just harder to prove, so the medical history matters. If you've had a fall, our page on slips, trips and falls at work covers the claim side.
Heat on an open site
Cal/OSHA's outdoor heat rule, Title 8 section 3395, applies to construction. Your employer has to provide fresh, cool water, enough for at least a quart per worker per hour for the whole shift. Once it's over 80 degrees, there has to be shade. At 95 degrees or above, construction is one of the industries that has to follow high-heat procedures, like watching crews for warning signs and making sure everyone can reach a supervisor.
Heat stroke can do lasting harm to the kidneys, heart and brain. If you got sick from heat on the job, it's a work injury, whether or not anyone followed the rule. Write down the date, the time, how hot it was, and how far the water and shade were.
Source: Cal/OSHA, Title 8 § 3395.
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Paid in cash, by the day, or told you're a "1099"
None of those settle it. California looks at how the work was actually done and who controlled it, not what you were called or how you were paid. If the company that hired you had no insurance, there may still be ways to get benefits.
Your immigration status doesn't decide it either. The Labor Code covers workers "whether lawfully or unlawfully employed" (section 3351), and section 1171.5 makes state-law protections available regardless of status. Nobody at our office will ask about your papers.
Sources: California Labor Code § 3351, § 1171.5.
If you can't go back to the trade
Comp pays your treatment, and once your claim form is in, the employer has to authorize up to $10,000 of it while the claim is being decided. If you're off work, temporary disability pays about two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to $1,764.11 a week in 2026. Construction pay jumps around from job to job, so bring stubs from every project and every overtime week.
A bad fall or a crushed hand can leave you with permanent limits. Permanent disability is based on a medical rating plus your age and occupation, which is why the same injury can rate differently for an ironworker than for someone at a desk. If you can't return to the work, there's a retraining voucher of up to $6,000, covered in our return-to-work guide.
Sources: California Labor Code § 5402; DIR, 2026 temporary disability rates.
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What crews ask us
The foreman says it was my fault.
For comp, it doesn't matter. Fault only comes into play in a third-party case.
How long do I have?
Report it in writing within 30 days. You generally have one year to file with the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, counted from the injury or the last benefit you were paid. Don't wait on it. A job site changes every week, and the evidence goes with it.
Will they fire me for filing?
They're not allowed to. Labor Code section 132a makes it illegal to punish you for a claim. Here's how retaliation claims work.
Let's talk about what happened.
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