“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 ✦
Bad ruling? We take your case to the next level — Reconsideration, Writ of Review, and beyond.
By Eman Yazdchi, Esq. · Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law
You went through the workers' comp process. You filed your claim, attended your appointments, and trusted the system to deliver a fair result. Then you received a decision that does not reflect the severity of your injuries or the impact on your ability to earn a living. In Taft, where an oil field injury can mean the end of the only career available, an unfair workers' comp decision has devastating consequences.
The good news is that unfavorable workers' comp decisions are not final. California law provides a multi-level appeals process, and having a Board-Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law handle your appeal dramatically improves your chances. Attorney Eman Yazdchi of Yazdchi Law P.C. handles workers' comp appeals at the Bakersfield WCAB and beyond.
The California workers' compensation system has several levels of appeal, each with specific procedures and deadlines:
If you disagree with a decision by a Workers' Compensation Administrative Law Judge (WCALJ) at the Bakersfield WCAB, the first step is filing a Petition for Reconsideration with the WCAB Appeals Board in San Francisco. You have 20 days from the date the decision is served to file this petition — and under LC §5903, the petition must identify specific legal errors, factual findings unsupported by evidence, or newly discovered evidence.
This is not a second trial. The Appeals Board reviews the record from the original proceeding and determines whether the judge made an error. Winning at reconsideration requires a precise legal argument about what went wrong — not simply disagreement with the outcome.
If reconsideration is denied or the Appeals Board's decision is still unfavorable, the next step is a Writ of Review to the California Court of Appeal under LC §5950. This is filed within 45 days and asks the court to examine whether the WCAB's decision was supported by substantial evidence and consistent with law.
In rare cases involving important legal questions, the California Supreme Court may grant review. This is uncommon in individual workers' comp cases but can occur when the case raises issues affecting workers statewide.
Not every disappointing outcome is an appealable error. Understanding what constitutes valid grounds for appeal is critical:
Incorrect disability rating. The judge adopted a permanent disability rating that does not reflect the actual medical evidence. For oil field workers in Taft, this often happens when the rating does not account for the impact of spinal, respiratory, or upper extremity injuries on the ability to perform physically demanding oil field work.
Improper apportionment. The judge improperly apportioned your disability to non-industrial factors (aging, genetics, pre-existing conditions) beyond what the medical evidence supports. In Taft cases, insurers frequently try to apportion respiratory injuries to personal smoking history rather than decades of oil field chemical exposure.
Denied medical treatment. The judge upheld a denial of necessary medical treatment — surgery, medication, specialist care — without adequate evidentiary basis.
Failure to consider evidence. The judge ignored or gave insufficient weight to medical reports, testimony, or other evidence supporting your claim.
Incorrect legal standard. The judge applied the wrong legal test or misinterpreted a provision of the Labor Code.
Permanent disability underrated after spinal fusion. A Taft oil field worker undergoes lumbar fusion surgery after a rig accident. The WCALJ adopts a permanent disability rating of 35% based on the insurer's medical examiner, ignoring the treating surgeon's opinion supporting a 55% rating. The Petition for Reconsideration argues the judge failed to adequately explain why the treating physician's opinion was rejected in favor of the insurance examiner.
Respiratory claim improperly apportioned. A 30-year veteran of the Midway-Sunset field develops severe COPD. The judge finds the condition 70% industrial and 30% non-industrial based on a brief smoking history that ended 20 years ago. On appeal, Yazdchi Law argues the apportionment is unsupported by substantial medical evidence — the worker quit smoking two decades prior, and the dominant exposure was occupational.
Surgery denial upheld without basis. A Taft worker's request for shoulder replacement surgery is denied through Utilization Review, and the judge upholds the denial at trial. On appeal, the medical evidence overwhelmingly supports the procedure. The Appeals Board reverses and orders the surgery authorized.
New evidence discovered after trial. After the trial, the injured worker obtains employment records showing he was exposed to a specific chemical that the insurer claimed was never used at his work site. A Petition for Reconsideration based on newly discovered evidence can reopen the case.
Appeals are the most technical and demanding phase of workers' comp litigation. The margins for error are narrow — miss a deadline by one day and your appeal is gone. File a brief that fails to identify the correct legal standard, and the Appeals Board denies your petition.
Attorney Eman Yazdchi's board certification in workers' compensation law includes demonstrated competence in appellate procedure. He understands what the Appeals Board looks for in a Petition for Reconsideration and how to frame arguments that achieve results.
Injured at work in Taft? Call (661) 273-1780
Tap to call →If you received an unfavorable workers' comp decision, the 20-day deadline for filing a Petition for Reconsideration starts running immediately. Every day that passes is a day closer to losing your right to appeal. Contact Yazdchi Law P.C. now for an urgent review of your case. Board-certified specialist Eman Yazdchi will analyze the decision, identify the grounds for appeal, and take immediate action to protect your rights. Do not wait — call today.
Ready to discuss your case? Schedule a free consultation.
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