“I am glad and so very pleased...she made happen what no other attorney could do. So far she has proven her weight in gold.”
Jamal Sharples
Palmdale
✦ Board-Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law — State Bar of California ✦
A denial is not the end. It’s the beginning of our fight for your benefits.
By Eman Yazdchi, Esq. · Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law
Receiving a denial letter on your workers' compensation claim is devastating, especially when you are dealing with pain, medical bills, and lost income in one of the most expensive cities in the country. But a denial is not the final word. In Los Angeles, a significant percentage of initially denied claims are ultimately overturned through the appeals process at the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board.
Attorney Eman Yazdchi of Yazdchi Law P.C. is a board-certified workers' compensation specialist who regularly handles denied claims for workers throughout Los Angeles. Board certification by the California State Bar reflects verified expertise in workers' comp law — the kind of expertise that makes the difference when your claim has been rejected and you need to know exactly how to fight back.
Insurance companies deny workers' comp claims for many reasons, and understanding the specific basis for your denial is the first step toward overturning it:
This is the most common denial. The insurer argues that your condition was pre-existing, arose from non-work activities, or is degenerative rather than caused by your job. This denial is especially common for cumulative trauma injuries — repetitive stress, chronic back pain, hearing loss — where there is no single accident the insurer can point to. California law recognizes that work does not need to be the sole cause of your injury. Under the doctrine of compensable consequence, even aggravation of a pre-existing condition is covered if work was a contributing factor.
LC Section 5400 requires you to file a claim within one year of your injury, and you should report to your employer within 30 days. But the statute of limitations for cumulative trauma injuries can be complex — the clock may not start until you knew or should have known that your condition was work-related. Insurers sometimes deny claims by misapplying these deadlines.
This denial is rampant in the Los Angeles entertainment industry, gig economy, and construction sector. The insurer claims you were an independent contractor, not an employee, and therefore not covered by workers' comp. Under California's ABC test from AB 5, most workers are employees unless the hiring entity can prove all three prongs of the test. These denials are frequently overturned.
Insurers hire their own medical examiners — Qualified Medical Evaluators (QMEs) or Agreed Medical Evaluators (AMEs) — who sometimes produce reports minimizing or denying the work-relatedness of your condition. These reports can be challenged through cross-examination at deposition and rebuttal medical evidence.
Fighting a denied claim requires a structured approach: filing a Declaration of Readiness at the Los Angeles WCAB to obtain a hearing, developing supporting medical evidence through QME evaluations, deposing the defense medical examiner to challenge their findings, and presenting your case at trial. Each step builds the evidentiary foundation needed to overturn the denial.
The warehouse worker near the Port of LA whose back injury claim is denied because an MRI shows a pre-existing disc bulge. The insurer ignores that heavy lifting at work aggravated the condition, which is fully compensable under California law.
The film industry production assistant in Hollywood denied because the insurer claims she was a "loan-out" independent contractor. Analysis of the actual working conditions reveals she was functionally an employee under the ABC test.
The healthcare worker at a downtown LA hospital whose repetitive stress injury is denied as "not arising out of employment" despite performing the same patient-handling tasks for twelve years. The insurer is banking on the worker giving up rather than fighting through the appeals process.
The restaurant worker in Boyle Heights who reported his injury two months after it occurred because his employer told him "it is not a big deal." The insurer denies based on late reporting, but the delay was caused by the employer's own conduct.
Overturning a denied claim requires specific litigation skills and deep knowledge of workers' comp procedure:
Injured at work in Los Angeles? Call (661) 273-1780
Tap to call →A denied claim in Los Angeles does not mean you have lost. It means the insurance company has decided to fight — and now you need someone who fights back. The deadlines to challenge a denial are strict, so do not delay.
Contact Yazdchi Law P.C. today for a free consultation. Attorney Eman Yazdchi will review your denial letter, explain your options, and outline a strategy to get your claim approved.
Ready to discuss your case? Schedule a free consultation.
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