“Eman by far exceeds the basic requirements other lawyers give to clients and surpasses all expectations.”
Briana Norman
Workers' Comp Lawyer in El Segundo, California
Certified Specialist (CA Bar)No Fee Unless We Win (Costs May Apply)Millions RecoveredSe Habla Español
- Years of Practice
- 14+
- Cases Handled
- 500+ over 14+ years of practice
- Recovered
- $7M+ over 14+ years of practice
- Bilingual + Farsi
- English + Español + Farsi
By Eman Yazdchi, Esq. · Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law, State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization · Cal Bar #285231
If you were hurt on the job in El Segundo, you have real rights. You do not have to face the insurance company by yourself.
El Segundo is home to some of California's most demanding and dangerous work. Refinery operators at Chevron on Vista Del Mar share workers' comp rights with Raytheon assemblers on El Segundo Boulevard, Northrop Grumman workers on Aviation Boulevard, LAX ramp crews, and housekeepers at the LAX hotel cluster on Sepulveda Boulevard. You likely qualify for benefits regardless of fault. A claim can pay your medical bills in full, replace two-thirds of your wages while you heal, and pay a cash award if the damage is lasting. In most cases, you have one year from the injury date to file.
Three steps to protect your claim right now:
- Tell your supervisor in writing today. A text or email works. State that you were hurt at work and give the date.
- Ask for the DWC-1 claim form. Your employer must hand it to you within one working day. If they stall, call (661) 273-1780. That stall alone can be a violation.
- See a doctor and say the injury is from work. Getting the cause on the record early protects your case.
Eman Yazdchi is a Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law, California Board of Legal Specialization, State Bar of California (CA Bar #285231). He handles El Segundo refinery, aerospace, and LAX-corridor claims at the Long Beach WCAB.
Do you have an El Segundo workers' comp case?
If your injury happened while doing your job in El Segundo, you very likely have a valid claim. That is true regardless of fault, job type, or immigration status.
California workers' comp is a no-fault system. You do not need to prove your employer did something wrong. You only need to show the injury happened while you were working. That covers a Chevron operator burned in a process-unit release, a Northrop assembler whose shoulder tore on the line, and a LAX ramp worker whose knee gave out loading cargo bags. Both single-event accidents and build-up injuries qualify. A condition that develops slowly over months or years of the same motion, like a Raytheon machinist's wrist or a Sepulveda Boulevard housekeeper's back, is covered the same as a one-day accident.
Coverage reaches every California worker. Undocumented workers and turnaround contractors at the Chevron refinery have the same rights as anyone else. California law extends full workers' comp protection regardless of immigration status.
What benefits can you receive?
Full medical care with no copays, two-thirds of your wages while you heal, a cash award for lasting damage, mileage reimbursement, and up to $6,000 for retraining if you cannot return to your old job.
Labor Code §4600: "Medical, surgical, chiropractic, acupuncture, and hospital treatment... which is reasonably required to cure or relieve from the effects of the injury shall be provided by the employer."
Here is what the law requires the insurer to pay:
- Medical care: Every treatment your doctor orders is paid in full from the date of injury. No deductibles, no copays, no bills sent to you.
- Temporary disability: Two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to the state cap, for as long as 104 weeks within five years.
- Permanent disability: Once you have healed as much as you will, a rating score turns lasting damage into a cash award paid over weeks.
- Mileage: Every trip to a medical appointment is reimbursed at the state rate.
- Retraining voucher: If your employer cannot return you to your old job, you may receive up to $6,000 for school or job training.
How much is an El Segundo workers' comp claim worth?
It depends on your lasting damage, your age, and the physical demands of your job. Refinery and aerospace work typically carries higher rating adjustments than office work. No honest lawyer promises a number before reviewing your medical record.
After you reach maximum medical improvement, a doctor scores your lasting damage as a whole-person impairment percentage. For injuries since 2013, §4660.1 applies a 1.4 multiplier and then adjusts for your age and occupation. Refinery maintenance, aerospace manufacturing, and ramp operations carry higher occupation adjustments than desk work. That final percentage sets how many weeks of payments you receive.
The table below shows general California ranges. They are not a prediction for your claim.
| Injury severity | Typical PD rating | Approximate value range |
|---|---|---|
| Minor strain or sprain, full recovery | 1% to 8% | $3,000 to $15,000 |
| Moderate injury requiring surgery | 10% to 25% | $20,000 to $65,000 |
| Serious injury or single-level fusion | 30% to 50% | $60,000 to $130,000 |
| Severe or multi-level spinal injury | 55% to 75% | $120,000 to $300,000+ |
| Catastrophic spinal cord or TBI | 100% | Life care plan value |
These are general California ranges, not a prediction. Your actual award depends on your disability rating, age, occupation, and future medical care. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
Yazdchi Law has recovered up to $5,000,000 for a catastrophic spinal cord injury and $1,500,000 for a cervical spine injury. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
What if the insurer denies your claim?
A denial is not final. While the insurer decides, up to $10,000 in medical care is owed right away. You have 30 days to appeal a denied treatment through Independent Medical Review.
After you file the DWC-1 form, the insurer has 90 days to accept or deny your claim. If they miss that window, the law presumes your injury is covered. During those 90 days, up to $10,000 in medical care must be authorized right away. They cannot freeze your treatment while they investigate.
If they deny a surgery your treating doctor ordered, you can appeal through Independent Medical Review within 30 days. An independent physician reads your records against state treatment guidelines. The physician either upholds or overturns the denial. A strong appeal shows at least six weeks of failed conservative care, current imaging confirming the injury, and your doctor's written opinion that surgery is medically necessary.
If you disagree with a WCAB judge's decision, you can file a Petition for Reconsideration. That petition is due within 25 days of a mailed decision, or 20 days of an electronic one. If the petition is denied, a Writ of Review from the Court of Appeal is available within 45 days.
How long do you have to file in El Segundo?
Report the injury within 30 days. File the formal claim within one year. For a build-up injury, the clock starts when a doctor first ties your condition to your work, not when the pain began.
Two clocks run from the moment you are hurt. The first: tell your employer in writing within 30 days. The second: file your formal claim within one year of the injury date. For a cumulative injury, like a Raytheon assembler with a slow-developing wrist condition, the one-year clock starts when a doctor first connects the condition to your job. Missing either deadline gives the insurer an opening to deny the whole claim.
| What you must do | Deadline | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Tell your employer in writing | 30 days from injury | §5400 |
| File your claim form | 1 year from injury | §5405 |
| Build-up injury clock starts | When you feel it and know work caused it | §5412 |
| Insurer must accept or deny | 90 days after you file | §5402 |
| Appeal a denied treatment | 30 days from the denial | §4610.5 |
Not sure where your clock stands? A free call can answer that: (661) 273-1780.
Everything on this page rests on these California Labor Code sections. Each link opens the official statute text.
Injured at work? Call (661) 273-1780
Tap to call →El Segundo workers' comp at the Long Beach WCAB
El Segundo cases are filed at the Long Beach WCAB at 300 Oceangate. Eman Yazdchi appears there regularly on refinery, aerospace, and LAX-corridor claims.
Which WCAB district handles El Segundo cases?
All El Segundo workers' compensation disputes go to the Long Beach district office of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. That office is at 300 Oceangate in Long Beach. This district covers El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Torrance, Carson, Wilmington, and San Pedro. Eman Yazdchi appears there regularly on El Segundo refinery, aerospace, and LAX-adjacent claims. Related: Torrance workers' comp and Manhattan Beach workers' comp.
Which El Segundo jobs produce the most injury claims?
El Segundo holds some of the most hazardous jobs in Los Angeles County. The major employers and the injuries they produce:
- Chevron El Segundo Refinery, Vista Del Mar: Process operators, maintenance crews, and turnaround contractors face burns, chemical releases, falls from height, confined-space incidents, and cumulative shoulder and back conditions that build over careers.
- Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, El Segundo Boulevard: Precision assembly and machining produce repetitive-motion injuries of the hand, wrist, and shoulder over long careers in the lab and on the floor.
- Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Aviation Boulevard: Defense manufacturing and overhead riveting cause neck, shoulder, and elbow injuries that often register as cumulative trauma.
- Boeing El Segundo: Test and integration crews work with large components in positions that load the spine and shoulders over years of bending and lifting.
- LAX ground operations, El Segundo perimeter: Ramp workers, cargo handlers, and aircraft fuelers absorb struck-by incidents, slips on wet tarmac, and cumulative knee and back damage from constant outdoor physical work.
- Hotels and restaurants, Sepulveda Boulevard and El Segundo Boulevard: Housekeepers, cooks, and kitchen staff sustain back, knee, and shoulder injuries from repetitive physical labor on hard tile floors.
Where do El Segundo workers go for emergency care?
For any life-threatening work injury, call 911 first. The nearest acute-care emergency rooms are Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center on Earl Street in Torrance and Torrance Memorial Medical Center on Lomita Boulevard. For major trauma from a refinery release or aviation-corridor accident, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in West Carson is the regional Level I trauma center. Document the injury on the employer's incident report right away and ask for the DWC-1 claim form. The California Division of Workers' Compensation publishes the current Long Beach district directory.
Why El Segundo workers choose Yazdchi Law
Eman Yazdchi is a Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law. The certification is issued by the California Board of Legal Specialization, State Bar of California (CA Bar #285231). Fewer than 1% of California attorneys hold this credential. He has represented hundreds of California workers. He appears regularly at the Long Beach WCAB on El Segundo refinery, aerospace, and LAX-corridor files. Attorney fees are contingent. The judge sets them at 12 to 15 percent of the award, paid at the end. Nothing up front. More about Eman Yazdchi. Verify the State Bar profile.
Related El Segundo workers' comp coverage: settlement, denied claim, appeal, and retaliation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I pay anything up front to hire an El Segundo workers' comp lawyer?
Nothing up front. Workers' comp attorney fees in California are set by the WCAB judge. They are typically 12 to 15 percent of the settlement or award. You pay at the end, out of what the insurer pays. If there is no recovery, you owe no fee. A Chevron turnaround worker and a Raytheon engineer get the same quality of representation on that basis.
Can my employer fire me for filing a workers' comp claim in El Segundo?
No. Firing, demoting, or cutting the hours of a worker who files is illegal retaliation under Labor Code §132a. If it happens, you may recover your job, your lost wages, and a penalty of up to $10,000 added to your award. A sudden write-up or removal from a Chevron turnaround crew or a Northrop production shift right after an injury report is a pattern we litigate at the Long Beach WCAB. Contact us right away if your employer's treatment changes after you report an injury.
Does immigration status affect my workers' comp rights in El Segundo?
No. California workers' comp covers every employee regardless of immigration status. An undocumented Chevron turnaround contractor has the same right to medical care and a disability award as any other worker. So does a hotel housekeeper on Sepulveda Boulevard or an LAX ramp worker. Your employer cannot use immigration status to threaten or discourage you from filing a claim. That threat is itself a separate violation of California law, and your employer can face consequences for it.
How long does an El Segundo workers' comp claim take to resolve?
An accepted claim settled without a formal hearing can close in 6 to 12 months. A disputed claim that goes to a Long Beach WCAB trial typically takes 18 to 36 months. Factors that extend the timeline include a disputed diagnosis and multiple injured body parts. An apportionment fight on a long-career refinery or aerospace file also adds time, as does any delay in reaching maximum medical improvement. We push for hearing dates when the insurer stalls and respond promptly to keep cases moving.
Can I choose my own treating doctor after a work injury in El Segundo?
In most cases, the insurer controls the treating doctor for the first 30 days through its Medical Provider Network. After that, you may transfer to a personal physician. That doctor must have been pre-designated in writing before the injury occurred. Once a medical dispute arises, the state appoints a panel of three Qualified Medical Evaluators. Each side strikes one name. The remaining doctor examines you and issues the opinion the WCAB uses to decide contested medical facts.
My shoulder wore out over years of aerospace assembly work. Does a build-up injury qualify?
Yes. California covers build-up injuries the same as single-event accidents. A Raytheon assembler whose rotator cuff tore from years of overhead work has the same rights as a worker hurt in one accident. So does a Northrop riveter with a cumulative elbow condition from years of repetitive motion. For a build-up claim, the injury date is set when a doctor first ties the condition to your job. That is not always the day the pain started. Call us to find out where your clock stands: (661) 273-1780.
What is apportionment and how can it reduce my workers' comp award?
Apportionment is the insurer's argument that part of your disability comes from a prior injury, age-related wear, or a condition unrelated to your current job. By law, the insurer's doctor must explain the medical reason for any split between work and non-work causes. Pointing at an old imaging study or citing age without a specific medical explanation does not meet that standard. In 2005, the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board issued the Escobedo v. Marshalls decision confirming that apportionment requires real medical evidence with the specific how and why. We challenge every weak apportionment opinion on El Segundo refinery and aerospace files.
What if the insurer denies the surgery my treating doctor ordered?
You have 30 days from the denial notice to appeal through Independent Medical Review. An independent physician reviews your medical record against the state treatment guidelines and issues a decision. A strong appeal shows at least six weeks of failed conservative care, current imaging that confirms the injury, and your treating doctor's written opinion explaining why surgery is medically necessary. If Independent Medical Review upholds the denial, additional legal options remain available at the Long Beach WCAB level. We handle these appeals for El Segundo workers at every stage of the process.
Last reviewed by Eman Yazdchi, Esq., June 2026.
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