Short answer: there is no official California workers’ compensation settlement chart, and any site showing “average settlement” dollar amounts is guessing. What does exist is a statutory chart, and it is the one that controls your money: California law converts a permanent disability rating into a fixed number of weeks of benefits under Labor Code section 4658, and those weeks are paid at a weekly rate that is capped by statute. Everything else in a settlement, above all the value of your future medical care, is negotiated on top of that number. Below are the real chart, the 2026 rates, and the difference between a Compromise and Release and Stipulations with Request for Award, so you can check an offer yourself. Free consultation. Call 24/7, English and Spanish: (888) 772-2529. No attorney fee unless there is a recovery.
Why no honest “settlement chart” shows dollar averages
The Division of Workers’ Compensation publishes benefit rates. Neither it nor any other state agency publishes a table of what cases settle for. Two workers with the same body part, the same surgery and the same employer can settle for very different amounts, because the numbers that drive the result are case specific: the permanent disability rating the medical evidence supports, how much of that rating is apportioned away from the work injury, your average weekly earnings, whether temporary disability went unpaid, and what your future medical care is realistically worth.
The honest chart is the statutory permanent disability schedule below. It gives you a floor to reason from, and an offer that does not cover the permanent disability the medical reports support is an offer worth questioning. It helps to understand where this sits in the California workers’ compensation system before you sign anything.
How a permanent disability rating is actually built
Whole person impairment under the AMA Guides
Once your condition is permanent and stationary, also called maximal medical improvement or MMI, a physician measures what is left. For injuries on or after January 1, 2013, Labor Code section 4660.1 requires the description and measurement of physical impairment to come from the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 5th Edition. The output is a whole person impairment percentage.
The 1.4 factor, occupation and age
Section 4660.1 multiplies whole person impairment by an adjustment factor of 1.4, and the Administrative Director’s schedule then adjusts for your occupation at the time of injury and your age at the time of injury. The result, expressed as 1 to 100 percent, is your rating. Section 4660.1 also bars increased impairment for sleep dysfunction, sexual dysfunction and psychiatric disorder arising out of a compensable physical injury, with exceptions for a violent act and for catastrophic injuries such as loss of a limb, paralysis, severe burn or severe head injury. That limit does not restrict your right to treatment for those conditions.
Apportionment, where settlements are won and lost
Labor Code section 4663 requires apportionment to be based on causation, and requires the reporting physician to state what approximate percentage of the permanent disability was caused by the work injury and what percentage by other factors, including prior injuries. Labor Code section 4664 limits the employer to the percentage directly caused by the work injury, conclusively presumes a prior award of permanent disability still exists, and caps lifetime accumulation of awards for any one region of the body at 100 percent.
The real chart: weeks of permanent disability per percentage point
Labor Code section 4658 sets the weeks of benefits payable for each 1 percent of permanent disability, in bands. Subdivision (e) applies to injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2013, and the bands are cumulative: each percentage point is paid at the rate for the band it falls in.
| Permanent disability rating | Weeks for each 1 percent within the band | Cumulative weeks at the top of the band (computed from the statute) |
|---|---|---|
| 0.25% to 9.75% | 3 | 29.25 |
| 10% to 14.75% | 4 | 49.25 |
| 15% to 24.75% | 5 | 99.25 |
| 25% to 29.75% | 6 | 129.25 |
| 30% to 49.75% | 7 | 269.25 |
| 50% to 69.75% | 8 | 429.25 |
| 70% to 99.75% | 16 | 909.25 |
Two points people miss. The top band pays 16 weeks per point, double the band below it, which is why the gap between a 68 percent rating and a 72 percent rating is enormous. And a rating of 100 percent is permanent total disability, paid for life under Labor Code section 4659(b) rather than for a set number of weeks. Older injuries use different tables: subdivision (d) governs injuries from January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2012 and carries a 15 percent increase or decrease depending on whether an employer with 50 or more employees offered regular, modified or alternative work. That adjustment does not apply to injuries on or after January 1, 2013.
The 2026 rates that turn a rating into dollars
The controlling figures are on the DWC benefit rate chart, and the 2026 temporary disability rates were announced in DWC newsline 2025-116.
| Benefit | Amount | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary total disability, minimum | $264.61 per week | Dates of injury on or after January 1, 2026 |
| Temporary total disability, maximum | $1,764.11 per week | Dates of injury on or after January 1, 2026 |
| Permanent disability, minimum | $160.00 per week | Dates of injury January 1, 2014 through 2026 |
| Permanent disability, maximum | $290.00 per week | Dates of injury January 1, 2014 through 2026 |
| Supplemental job displacement voucher | $6,000 | Dates of injury on or after January 1, 2013 |
| Return-to-work supplement | $5,000, one time | Workers issued a voucher who meet program criteria |
The permanent disability weekly rate is two-thirds of average weekly earnings, subject to that $160 floor and $290 ceiling. Note what the ceiling means: anyone earning roughly $435 a week or more is paid at the same $290 rate, and unlike temporary disability, which is indexed to the state average weekly wage each year, the permanent disability maximum has not moved from $290 for dates of injury since 2014.
Illustrative examples: weeks times rate
These are arithmetic from the statute, not predictions and not average settlements. Each assumes a 2026 date of injury, payment at the $290 maximum, and no apportionment.
| Rating | Weeks under Labor Code 4658(e) | Weekly rate | Permanent disability award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | 30.25 | $290.00 | $8,772.50 |
| 40% | 201.00 | $290.00 | $58,290.00 |
| 70% | 433.25 | $290.00 | $125,642.50 |
Now apply reality. If a physician apportions half of a 40 percent rating to preexisting degenerative changes, the industrial permanent disability falls to 20 percent and the award falls with it. If your earnings put you at the $160 minimum, the 40 percent example drops to $32,160. And none of these figures include future medical treatment, which is often the largest single component of a lump sum. Our page on permanent disability benefits covers the rating process in more depth.
Life pension for ratings of 70 percent and above
If your rating is 70 percent or higher but less than 100 percent, Labor Code section 4659(a) provides a life pension that begins after the permanent disability weeks run out and continues for the rest of your life. The formula is 1.5 percent of average weekly earnings for each 1 percent of disability above 60 percent, with average weekly earnings capped at $515.38 for injuries on or after January 1, 2006. At a 70 percent rating that is 15 percent of $515.38, or about $77.31 per week to start. Section 4659(c) then increases life pension and permanent total disability payments every January 1, for injuries on or after January 1, 2003, by the increase in the state average weekly wage, which DWC calculated at 4.98826 percent for 2026. Trading a lifetime income stream for a lump sum deserves careful arithmetic.
The two benefits that are easiest to lose
- Supplemental job displacement voucher, $6,000. Under Labor Code section 4658.7, for injuries on or after January 1, 2013, if the injury causes permanent partial disability and the employer does not make a qualifying offer of regular, modified or alternative work, you are entitled to a $6,000 voucher for retraining, tuition, licensing and certification fees, tools, vocational counseling, computer equipment up to $1,000 and miscellaneous expenses up to $500. It expires two years after it is furnished or five years after the date of injury, whichever is later.
- Return-to-work supplement, $5,000. The Return-to-Work Supplement Program created by Labor Code section 139.48 pays a one-time $5,000 supplement to injured workers who receive a voucher and meet the program criteria. You apply through the Department of Industrial Relations, not the insurance company, and it is separate from your settlement.
Compromise and Release: what you trade for a lump sum
A Compromise and Release, usually called a C&R, resolves the whole claim for a single sum. DWC describes it plainly: once the lump sum is approved by a workers’ compensation judge, the claims administrator will generally not be liable for further payments or medical care, and if the payment includes estimated future medical costs, you become responsible for your own treatment.
A C&R is not effective until a judge approves it. Labor Code section 5001 provides that no release of liability or compromise agreement is valid unless approved by the appeals board or a referee, and section 5002 requires the signed agreement to be filed with the board. Approval is not a rubber stamp. Under title 8, section 10700 of the California Code of Regulations, the board must inquire into the adequacy of every Compromise and Release and every set of Stipulations, may set the matter for hearing to take evidence, requires the medical reports needed to judge adequacy, and approves a release of future liability for less than full compensation only where a reasonable doubt exists as to the rights of the parties or approval is in their best interest. The DWC Compromise and Release form itself states that interest under Labor Code section 5800 is included if the settlement is paid within 30 days after approval, and warns that a settlement may affect Social Security, Medicare and long-term disability benefits.
Stipulations with Request for Award: payments over time, medical stays open
Stipulations with Request for Award, commonly called “stips,” are an agreement on the facts, above all the permanent disability percentage, followed by an award issued by the judge. Permanent disability is paid out over the statutory number of weeks rather than in a lump sum, and future medical treatment for the accepted body parts generally stays open as the employer’s responsibility.
Stips also preserve the right to come back. Labor Code section 5410 lets an injured worker start proceedings within five years of the date of injury on the ground that the original injury caused new and further disability, and gives the appeals board continuing jurisdiction within that period. Section 5803 gives the board continuing jurisdiction to rescind, alter or amend an award for good cause, after notice and an opportunity to be heard. Section 5804 provides that no award may be rescinded, altered or amended after five years from the date of injury, though a petition filed within the five years can be decided later. Those rights matter only if there is an award to reopen, which is why an approved C&R is, in practice, the end of the road.
Compromise and Release compared with Stipulations
| Issue | Compromise and Release | Stipulations with Request for Award |
|---|---|---|
| How you are paid | One lump sum after the judge approves | Permanent disability paid over the statutory number of weeks |
| Future medical care | Closed. You pay for treatment, usually out of the settlement | Generally stays open as the employer’s responsibility |
| Reopening if you get worse | Effectively no. The claim is released | Possible within five years of the date of injury under sections 5410, 5803 and 5804 |
| Judge approval | Required under Labor Code 5001, with an adequacy inquiry | Required, with the same adequacy inquiry |
| Medicare | Closing future medical raises Medicare’s interest in not paying for injury related care, so a set-aside is often discussed | Less often an issue, because the employer keeps paying for treatment |
| Tends to make sense when | Liability or body parts are disputed, you want control of your own care, you are changing jobs or leaving the state, or you need capital now | The injury is accepted, you expect ongoing care, and the treatment you want is being authorized |
Before you accept a settlement figure, get the rating and the arithmetic checked. Call (888) 772-2529, 24/7, in English or Spanish, for a free consultation.
What “future medical open” is really worth
Open medical care is valuable, but it is not unlimited. Treatment usually has to come from a physician in the employer’s medical provider network, and each treatment request goes through utilization review, where a reviewing physician decides whether the request matches the Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule. A denial can be challenged through independent medical review. That system is why some workers prefer a C&R and the freedom to pick their own doctors, and why others prefer stips and never want to see a medical bill. If care is already being refused, read about medical treatment in a workers’ compensation claim and what to do when a claim or benefit is denied first.
When settlement discussions usually start
Settlement talk before your condition is permanent and stationary is talk without a number behind it. The normal sequence is: you treat, temporary disability is paid while you cannot work, a physician finds you permanent and stationary, an impairment report is written, and a rating is produced. If the parties disagree about the medical findings, the dispute goes to a qualified medical evaluator chosen from a state-issued panel of three, or, if you have an attorney, to an agreed medical evaluator your attorney and the claims administrator select together. Permanent disability payments must begin within 14 days after temporary disability ends, whether or not settlement is being discussed. A serious offer normally arrives once a permanent and stationary report and a rating exist; an early offer is usually an attempt to close the case while the medical picture is still unclear. Our page on MMI and the permanent and stationary report explains what the report must contain and how to object to it.
What raises and what lowers a settlement
- Apportionment. Every point apportioned to age, degeneration or a prior injury under section 4663 comes straight out of the award. A poorly reasoned apportionment opinion can often be challenged.
- Disputes about causation. If the employer denies the injury arose out of employment, or disputes a body part or a cumulative trauma period, the offer reflects that risk.
- Quality of the medical evidence. A report that does not explain how it reached its impairment number or its apportionment carries less weight than one that shows its work.
- Unpaid temporary disability. Unpaid or underpaid temporary disability is separate money, and it should be identified before a case resolves, not after.
- Penalties and interest. Labor Code section 5814 allows an increase of up to 25 percent of the payment unreasonably delayed or refused, or up to $10,000, whichever is less. Penalties are generally resolved by an approved settlement unless expressly excluded, so they must be raised while the case is open.
- The real cost of future treatment. Surgery, injections and long-term medication have a price, and in a C&R that price belongs in the number.
Attorney fees
In California workers’ compensation an attorney cannot simply charge you. Labor Code section 4906 provides that the appeals board determines what constitutes a reasonable fee, that an attorney shall not demand or accept a fee until the amount has been approved or set by the appeals board, and that any fee agreement must be submitted for approval within 10 days. The fee is paid out of your award or settlement rather than billed to you. For a fuller explanation, see what a workers’ compensation lawyer costs in California.
How a settlement interacts with Social Security disability
If you receive Social Security Disability Insurance, workers’ compensation can reduce it. Social Security explains that SSDI plus workers’ compensation generally cannot exceed 80 percent of your average current earnings before disability, and that the excess is offset from the Social Security payment until you reach full retirement age or the other benefits stop. A lump sum received instead of or in addition to monthly payments can trigger the same offset, and you must report it. How the settlement documents describe and allocate the lump sum can change the size of the offset. Supplemental Security Income works differently and is means tested. If you have a pending or possible disability claim, discuss it before signing, and see our page on Social Security disability claims, which the firm handles in house. The fee in that claim is separate from the workers’ compensation fee and is approved by the Social Security Administration; see how Social Security disability attorney fees work.
Was someone other than your employer at fault?
Workers’ compensation does not pay for pain and suffering, but a separate lawsuit sometimes does. Labor Code section 3852 preserves an injured worker’s right to sue a negligent third party, such as another driver, a property owner or an equipment manufacturer, in addition to claiming compensation, while allowing the employer to seek reimbursement from that recovery. A defective machine, a delivery route collision or an unsafe jobsite controlled by another contractor can support a third party claim alongside the workers’ compensation case.
How Abdi & Associates can help
Abdi & Associates, Inc. handles California workers’ compensation claims in house for injured workers throughout the state, with consultations by phone or video. On a settlement question the consultation covers your date of injury and which version of section 4658 applies, what the medical reports actually say about impairment and apportionment, whether the rating is right, whether temporary disability was fully paid, what future medical care is likely to cost, whether a voucher and the return-to-work supplement are in play, and how a Compromise and Release would interact with any Social Security or Medicare exposure. If an offer is on the table, we will tell you how it compares to the statutory numbers. Next steps are usually gathering the reports and benefit notices, obtaining or correcting a rating, then negotiating or setting the case for hearing. There is no attorney fee unless there is a recovery, and in workers’ compensation the fee is set and approved by a workers’ compensation judge and paid from the award. If you are not sure you have a viable claim yet, start with our overview of a California work injury claim.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average workers’ comp settlement in California?
No reliable average exists, and any figure presented as one should be treated as marketing. Settlements turn on variables that differ in every case: the rating, apportionment, average weekly earnings, unpaid benefits, and the projected cost of future treatment. Averaging a hernia claim and a spinal fusion claim produces a number that describes neither. The useful comparison is your own rating run through the section 4658 table at the applicable weekly rate.
How much of my settlement do I actually receive?
The gross settlement is reduced by the attorney fee the workers’ compensation judge approves, by any approved liens such as medical or medical-legal liens, and by permanent disability advances the insurer already paid you. In a Compromise and Release, money set aside for future medical care is also part of the gross figure, so treat it as earmarked rather than as spending money.
How long after a settlement is approved do I get paid?
The Labor Code does not set a universal payment deadline, but the process is defined: the signed agreement is filed with the appeals board, a judge reviews it for adequacy under title 8, section 10700 of the California Code of Regulations, and the judge issues an order approving it. The DWC Compromise and Release form provides that interest under Labor Code section 5800 is included if the settlement is paid within 30 days after the date of approval, which is the practical benchmark most parties work from.
Can I settle my case and keep my medical treatment open?
Yes, by settling with Stipulations with Request for Award instead of a Compromise and Release. Stips fix the permanent disability percentage, pay it over the statutory weeks, and leave future medical care for the accepted body parts with the employer. The trade-off is that treatment still runs through the medical provider network and utilization review, and there is no lump sum.
What is a Compromise and Release?
It is a settlement in which you release the claim entirely in exchange for a lump sum. It is not valid until a workers’ compensation judge approves it under Labor Code section 5001, and the judge must inquire into whether the amount is adequate. Once approved and paid, the employer and insurer are generally finished, including for future medical care.
Can I reopen my workers’ compensation case after I settle?
After Stipulations with Request for Award, often yes. Labor Code section 5410 allows a claim for new and further disability within five years of the date of injury, and sections 5803 and 5804 allow an award to be altered or amended for good cause on a petition filed inside that five-year window. After a Compromise and Release the answer is usually no, because you released the claim rather than obtained an ongoing award.
Does a workers’ comp settlement affect my SSDI?
It can. Social Security applies an offset when workers’ compensation plus SSDI exceeds 80 percent of your average current earnings before disability, and a lump sum can be prorated and counted for that purpose. The reduction generally continues until full retirement age or until the workers’ compensation payments stop. You must report the settlement to Social Security, and the wording of the settlement documents can affect the result.
When will workers’ comp offer a settlement?
Usually only after a treating or evaluating physician finds you permanent and stationary and a permanent disability rating exists, because before that there is nothing concrete to value. Insurers sometimes make an early offer anyway. That is a good moment to get advice, not a good moment to sign.
Related pages
- California workers’ compensation overview
- Permanent disability benefits
- MMI and permanent and stationary status explained
- Medical benefits in a work injury claim
- Managing a denied claim
- How much does a workers’ comp lawyer cost in California
- Third party claims after a work injury
- Social Security disability
- California work injury lawyer
- Contact Abdi & Associates
Have a settlement offer, a rating, or a permanent and stationary report you do not understand? Call (888) 772-2529, 24/7, in English or Spanish, for a free consultation, or use the form below. No attorney fee unless there is a recovery.
Primary sources: Cal. Lab. Code §§ 139.48, 3852, 4453, 4658, 4658.7, 4659, 4660.1, 4663, 4664, 4906, 5001, 5002, 5410, 5800, 5803, 5804, 5814; Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10700; California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Workers’ Compensation benefit rate chart; DWC newsline 2025-116 (temporary total disability rates for 2026); DWC, “How is my case resolved”; DWC, “Medical care”; DWC employee FAQs; DWC Compromise and Release form CR-1; DWC Return-to-Work Supplement Program FAQs; Workers’ Compensation in California: A Guidebook for Injured Workers, chapter 7; Social Security Administration Publication No. 05-10018.
Reviewed by Shawn Abdi, Esq., Abdi & Associates, Inc. Published: September 9, 2026. Attorney advertising. This page is general information, not legal advice about your specific situation. Legal deadlines have exceptions; confirm yours with an attorney. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.