“Very thankful for everything they did for us. Always responsive, reassured us every step of the way and obtained a great result.”
Miguel Orellana
✦ 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 dominate the workers' compensation system in California, and Van Nuys is no exception. The community's economy runs on industries that punish the spine: auto mechanics torquing bolts in awkward positions at Van Nuys Boulevard shops, warehouse workers lifting and carrying heavy freight in distribution centers, airport ground crew loading and unloading cargo at Van Nuys Airport, and even government workers sitting at poorly designed workstations for eight hours a day in the Courthouse complex and surrounding offices. When the back gives out, the consequences ripple through every part of your life. Yazdchi Law P.C. handles back injury workers' comp claims for Van Nuys workers at the WCAB District Office located right in the community.
Back injuries vary enormously in severity, treatment requirements, and permanent disability value. Understanding your specific diagnosis is essential to evaluating your claim.
Disc injuries are the most commonly litigated back condition in workers' comp. The intervertebral disc herniates when the gel-like nucleus pushes through the fibrous outer ring, compressing nearby nerves. Symptoms range from localized back pain to severe sciatica radiating down the legs, numbness, tingling, and muscle weakness. Disc herniations in the lumbar spine (L3-L4, L4-L5, L5-S1) are the most frequent in manual labor occupations, while cervical disc injuries are more common in vehicle accidents and falls.
Treatment often begins conservatively with physical therapy, epidural steroid injections, and pain management. When conservative care fails, surgical options include microdiscectomy, laminectomy, and in severe cases, spinal fusion. Each surgical intervention increases the permanent disability rating and the value of your claim.
Narrowing of the spinal canal can compress the spinal cord and nerve roots, causing pain, numbness, and weakness. While spinal stenosis can develop naturally with age, occupational factors — repetitive heavy lifting, whole-body vibration from equipment, and years of working in bent or twisted positions — accelerate the process dramatically. Insurance companies routinely try to attribute stenosis entirely to aging, but the medical literature clearly establishes that occupational factors are a significant contributor.
Acute soft tissue injuries to the muscles, ligaments, and tendons of the lower back. These injuries are common across all of Van Nuys's physical labor industries. While insurers often try to minimize them as minor, chronic lumbar strain can be persistently painful and functionally limiting, and it may indicate more serious underlying structural damage.
Vertebral compression fractures result from falls, being struck by heavy objects, or severe loading of the spine. Construction workers, warehouse employees, and airport ground crew in Van Nuys are at highest risk. Compression fractures can cause permanent loss of height, chronic pain, and kyphotic deformity. Treatment may involve vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty, and permanent disability ratings for compression fractures are typically substantial.
Insurance companies fight back injury claims harder than almost any other type because the financial exposure is significant. A serious back injury generates years of medical treatment costs (including potential future surgery), months of temporary disability payments, and a permanent disability award that may be among the highest the rating schedule allows. Add the possibility of a life pension for injuries rated at 70 percent or above, and the insurer has every financial incentive to minimize or deny the claim.
The primary battlefield is medical evidence. The insurer will send you to a doctor who tends to find lower impairment ratings, attribute disability to pre-existing degeneration rather than work, and recommend against future surgery. Your attorney's job is to ensure you are evaluated by a physician who conducts a thorough, objective examination and accurately rates your impairment under the AMA Guides.
Apportionment under LC section 4663 is the insurer's favorite weapon in back injury cases. Nearly everyone over 35 has some degree of spinal degeneration visible on MRI. Insurers argue that this pre-existing degeneration accounts for a significant percentage of your disability, reducing the percentage they must pay. Fighting apportionment requires medical evidence establishing that your work activities were the predominant cause of your current condition, not simply a minor factor layered on top of natural aging.
If your back injury is work-related, you are entitled to:
Attorney Eman Yazdchi is a Board Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law, recognized by the California State Bar for advanced expertise. Back injury claims are among the most medically and legally complex in workers' comp, requiring deep understanding of spinal pathology, the AMA Guides rating methodology, and the legal framework for fighting apportionment. Board certification signals that level of expertise.
Your Van Nuys back injury case will be heard at the WCAB District Office located in the community. Yazdchi Law's regular presence at this courthouse means we know how the judges evaluate back injury evidence, which medical evaluators are commonly assigned to spinal injury cases, and what evidence carries the most weight in disputes over apportionment and future medical care. That specific, local knowledge shapes our case strategy from day one.
Injured at work in Van Nuys? Call (661) 273-1780
Tap to call →A back injury can end a career. Do not let the insurance company decide what it is worth. Contact Yazdchi Law P.C. for a free consultation with a board-certified workers' compensation specialist. We will review your medical records, assess the strength of your claim, identify any apportionment defenses the insurer is likely to raise, and develop a strategy to maximize your benefits. Your case will be heard at the Van Nuys WCAB — and we will be there, prepared to fight for you.
Ready to discuss your case? Schedule a free consultation.
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