Long Beach Workers' Compensation Attorney

If you've been hurt on the job in Long Beach or anywhere in the South Bay, you have rights under California law — and you don't have to navigate the workers' compensation system alone. The Law Office of Ethan M. Pease is based right here in Long Beach, representing injured workers throughout the South Bay, Long Beach, and greater Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura counties. We work on contingency — no fee unless we recover benefits for you.

In This Article: How California Workers' Comp Works · Benefits You May Be Entitled To · Common Workplace Injuries in Long Beach & the South Bay · Filing Deadlines · What to Do After a Workplace Injury · What It Costs to Hire Us · Long Beach & South Bay Workers' Comp by the Numbers · Why Choose the Law Office of Ethan M. Pease

How California Workers' Comp Works

California's workers' compensation system is a no-fault system — meaning you don't need to prove your employer did anything wrong to receive benefits, and in most cases, your own carelessness doesn't disqualify you either. In exchange, injured workers generally can't sue their employer directly for a workplace injury, with some exceptions for egregious conduct or injuries caused by a third party. The system is administered by the California Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC), part of the Department of Industrial Relations, and disputes are resolved through the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB).

Benefits You May Be Entitled To

Medical Treatment: All reasonably necessary medical care to treat your work injury, with no copay.

Temporary Disability (TD): Generally about two-thirds of your average weekly wage while you're unable to work and recovering, subject to state minimum and maximum limits.

Permanent Disability (PD): Weekly or lump-sum payments if your injury results in lasting impairment, based on your disability rating.

Supplemental Job Displacement Benefits (SJDB): A $6,000 voucher for retraining if you can't return to your old job and your employer doesn't offer suitable work, under California Labor Code §4658.7.

Death Benefits: Payments to dependents if a workplace injury results in death.

Common Workplace Injuries in Long Beach & the South Bay

Long Beach's economy is built around the Port of Long Beach, the surrounding warehouse and distribution network, and a steady stream of construction and infrastructure work — all industries with real, well-documented injury risks. We regularly handle:

Warehouse & Logistics injuries — forklift accidents, repetitive lifting, and injuries from falling or shifting inventory.

Construction injuries — falls, equipment accidents, and other injuries common on job sites.

Cumulative trauma and repetitive strain — carpal tunnel, back injuries, and other conditions that build up over time on the job.

Vehicle accidents on the job — for delivery drivers, port workers, and anyone injured while driving or being struck by a vehicle while working.

Permanent disability claims — when a workplace injury results in lasting impairment and long-term benefits.

Denied and disputed claims — when your claim has already been denied or disputed by the insurance company and needs a second look.

Filing Deadlines

California law sets firm deadlines for workers' comp claims:

Report your injury to your employer within 30 days (California Labor Code §5400).

File your workers' comp claim within 1 year of the date of injury, or the date you knew or should have known it was work-related for cumulative injuries (Labor Code §5405).

If a third party other than your employer contributed to your injury, you generally have 2 years to file a separate personal injury claim against them.

Missing these deadlines can seriously jeopardize your right to benefits — the sooner you report an injury and get help, the stronger your position.

What to Do After a Workplace Injury

1. Report the injury to your employer as soon as possible, in writing if you can.

2. Get medical attention — either through your employer's medical provider network or your own predesignated physician if you set that up in advance.

3. Request a DWC-1 claim form from your employer.

4. Document everything — your symptoms, what happened, witnesses, and all communication with your employer or their insurance company.

5. Consult with a workers' comp attorney before signing anything from the insurance company, especially early settlement offers.

What It Costs to Hire Us

We work on a contingency basis — there's no upfront cost, and we only get paid if we recover benefits for you. Attorney fees in California workers' comp cases are also subject to approval by the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, which reviews fee requests to make sure they're reasonable. Consultations are free.

Long Beach & South Bay Workers' Comp by the Numbers

According to the California Division of Workers' Compensation's Workers' Compensation Information System (WCIS), here's how many workplace injuries (First Reports of Injury, or FROIs) were reported in 2024 across the counties we serve:

Los Angeles County: 173,238 reported injuries — an injury rate of 3.6 per 100 employees.

Orange County: 55,718 reported injuries — a rate of 3.4 per 100 employees.

San Diego County: 55,189 reported injuries — a rate of 3.3 per 100 employees.

San Bernardino County: 41,786 reported injuries — a rate of 4.0 per 100 employees, the highest of the five.

Riverside County: 40,203 reported injuries — a rate of 3.4 per 100 employees.

Together, these five counties accounted for over 366,000 reported workplace injuries in 2024 alone — more than half of all workers' comp claims filed statewide. If you were hurt on the job anywhere in this region, you're far from alone, and the system exists specifically to get you medical care and wage replacement while you recover.

Source: California DWC, Workers' Compensation Information System, Percent of FROIs Reported by County of Accident Location, 2024 (published November 2025).

Why Choose the Law Office of Ethan M. Pease

Ethan Pease has represented injured workers since 2009, starting as a clerk learning the inner workings of the California workers' compensation system before becoming an attorney himself in 2014. The firm focuses exclusively on workers' compensation — we don't split our attention across other practice areas — and we're based right here in Long Beach. If you're an injured worker in Long Beach, the South Bay, or anywhere in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, or Ventura counties, we're ready to talk.