“Very thankful for everything they did for us. Always responsive, reassured us every step of the way and obtained a great result.”
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✦ Board-Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law — State Bar of California ✦
Back injuries are the #1 workers’ comp claim in California — and among the most undervalued.
By Eman Yazdchi, Esq. · Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law
Back injuries are the most common and most heavily disputed category of workers' compensation claims in Glendale. Whether you herniated a disc lifting a patient at Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital, developed chronic lumbar pain from years of sitting at a desk in a Brand Boulevard office tower, or aggravated a pre-existing spinal condition while stocking shelves at the Glendale Galleria, your back injury is likely compensable under California law. The challenge is proving it to an insurance company that has built an entire playbook around minimizing back injury claims.
At Yazdchi Law P.C., board-certified workers' compensation specialist Eman Yazdchi has handled back injury claims across every industry represented in Glendale's economy. We understand the medical complexity of spinal conditions, the apportionment arguments insurers deploy, and the treatment pathways that maximize both your recovery and your claim value.
Herniated and bulging discs. Disc herniations at the lumbar or cervical spine are among the most common diagnoses in Glendale workers' comp claims. They can result from a single lifting incident or from cumulative wear — years of bending, twisting, or maintaining a static posture at a desk. Symptoms include radiating pain into the legs or arms, numbness, tingling, and in severe cases, loss of bowel or bladder function requiring emergency surgery.
Lumbar strain and sprain. These soft tissue injuries are often the initial diagnosis after a back injury, but they can mask more serious underlying conditions. Insurance carriers prefer to characterize back injuries as "strains" because the disability rating and settlement value are lower. A thorough medical evaluation — including MRI imaging — is essential to ensure the correct diagnosis.
Spinal stenosis. Narrowing of the spinal canal can be caused or accelerated by years of physical labor or sustained postural stress. Insurers routinely argue that stenosis is a degenerative condition unrelated to work. In many cases, however, industrial activities are a substantial contributing factor that accelerated the degenerative process — and under California law, that acceleration makes the condition compensable.
Compression fractures. Falls, heavy lifting, and vehicle accidents on the job can cause vertebral compression fractures. These injuries are common among construction workers and healthcare employees who handle patients.
Insurance carriers fight back injury claims harder than almost any other category because the potential exposure is enormous. A lumbar spine injury requiring fusion surgery can generate medical costs exceeding $150,000 for the surgery alone, plus years of follow-up care, pain management, and potential revision surgeries. Permanent disability ratings for spinal injuries often reach 40 percent or higher after adjustment, translating to significant permanent disability awards.
In Glendale specifically, the contest is even more aggressive because the city's professional workforce earns above-average wages. Higher wages mean higher temporary disability rates, which increase the total claim cost. Insurance companies respond by investing heavily in medical opinions that minimize the industrial component of the injury.
The most common defense tactic is apportionment. Under LC sections 4663 and 4664, the insurer argues that a percentage of your back disability is attributable to non-industrial factors — age-related degeneration, prior injuries, or genetic predisposition. An MRI showing disc desiccation or facet arthropathy at multiple levels gives the defense ammunition to argue that "degenerative changes" account for most of your condition. Our firm counters these arguments with medical evaluators who understand that degenerative findings on imaging are nearly universal in working-age adults and do not, by themselves, prove that the current disabling condition is non-industrial.
The hospital worker. A medical-surgical nurse at Glendale Memorial has been lifting and repositioning patients for eight years. She reports increasing low back pain with radiation into her left leg. An MRI reveals a large disc herniation at L4-L5 compressing the nerve root. The insurer's QME apportions 60 percent of the disability to "pre-existing degeneration." We challenge the apportionment through deposition and retain a spine specialist who explains that the occupational lifting activities were the predominant cause of the disc failure at that specific level.
The office professional. A financial analyst working in a Glendale office near the Americana at Brand sits for nine hours daily at a workstation with a non-adjustable chair and a monitor positioned below eye level. Over three years, he develops cervical disc herniations at C5-C6 and C6-C7 causing arm pain and weakness. The insurer denies the cumulative trauma claim, arguing that sitting at a desk cannot cause disc herniations. We retain an occupational medicine specialist who testifies to the well-established connection between sustained cervical flexion postures and disc pathology.
The retail worker. A warehouse associate at a distribution center servicing Glendale retail operations suffers an acute back injury while lifting a heavy box. The employer sends him to an MPN physician who prescribes ibuprofen and light duty. The pain persists, but the treating physician will not authorize an MRI. We exercise the right to change treating physicians and get the worker to a spine specialist who orders appropriate imaging, revealing a herniated disc requiring surgical intervention.
Under LC section 4600, you are entitled to all medical treatment reasonably required to cure or relieve your back injury. For spinal conditions, this typically includes diagnostic imaging, pain management, physical therapy, epidural steroid injections, and when conservative treatment fails, surgery. The insurer must authorize treatment through the utilization review process, and if treatment is denied, you have the right to independent medical review.
Temporary disability benefits under LC section 4650 compensate you for lost wages while you are recovering. For back injuries requiring surgery, the temporary disability period can extend for months. California law caps temporary disability at 104 weeks within a five-year period for most injuries, though certain severe injuries may qualify for extended benefits.
Back injury claims demand a lawyer who can read medical records, challenge flawed medical opinions, and present complex spinal pathology to a WCAB judge in terms that are clear and persuasive. Eman Yazdchi's board certification reflects exactly this kind of specialized competence. We handle Glendale back injury cases at the Van Nuys WCAB and work with spine specialists, pain management physicians, and orthopedic surgeons who provide thorough, well-documented evaluations.
Injured at work in Glendale? Call (661) 273-1780
Tap to call →A back injury can end your career if it is not properly treated and fully compensated. Do not let the insurance company dictate the value of your claim. Contact Yazdchi Law P.C. today for a free consultation and let a board-certified specialist fight for the benefits you deserve.
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