California Workers' Comp Settlement Charts: 2021-2024

There are several workers' compensation settlement charts in California, and they can be confusing to follow.

People most commonly reference the temporary disability rate chart, which outlines the monthly amount you’ll receive while you’re actively out of work. However, California workers' comp benefits also include payments for permanent disability, for the employees estate in the case of death, and mileage recuperation.

We’ll cover all the workers' comp settlement charts in California and explain how you can expect to be compensated, at any stage of your claim.

While these charts seem clear cut, a lot can depend on the details of your claim, your doctor, and your legal representation. In fact, workers’ comp claimants with an Atticus lawyer receive a final payout that's twice as high, on average, compared to claimants with no lawyer.

Settlement chart: Temporary disability rates

Temporary disability benefits are paid for lost wages. You get them while you’re still actively recovering from your injury, and are unable to work. In California, you can receive temporary disability benefits for up to 104 weeks.

If you get injured in 2024, and were making at least $364.30 per week prior to your injury, you’ll receive two-thirds of what you made while you were working. If you earned $364.29 or less per week, you’ll receive a payment worth $242.86 per week.

Below are the temporary disability benefit charts for the last three years.

Date of Injury: 1/1/2024 or later

Date of Injury: 1/1/2023 to 12/31/23

Date of Injury: 1/1/2022 to 12/31/22

Date of Injury: 1/1/2021 to 12/31/21

If your workers' compensation was initially denied, but later settled, you may receive these amounts in back pay, as a part of your settlement package. Once you’ve reached maximum medical improvement (your doctor says your condition has stabilized, and won’t continue to improve), you may be eligible for permanent disability benefits.

Settlement chart: Permanent disability rate

If you qualify for permanent disability benefits, it’ll start to pay out once temporary disability benefits stop unless you agree to a settlement. (Learn more in our guide to California settlements.)

Once your condition has stabilized, if you’re still affected by your injury, you’ll receive a disability rating. That disability rating will determine the duration of your ongoing payments. From 2014 to 2024 the minimum and maximum weekly payments for permanent disability were the same, and are listed below.

Within these ranges, you’ll continue to be paid two-thirds of your weekly wage, like with temporary disability.

For example, if you made $435 per week on average before you were injured, two-thirds of your pay would be higher than the maximum possible payment rate and you'd receive $290 per week through permanent benefits.

Calculating the duration of your permanent disability benefit comes down to your disability rating.

For example, if your disability rating was 20, you’d receive 5 weeks of payments for each percentage. 20% times 5 weeks = 100 weeks of benefits. 

If you, like in our last example, had prior average weekly earnings of $435 per week, and a disability rating of 20%, you’d receive the $290 maximum payments for 100 weeks. Your total benefit would be $290 times 100, or $29,000.

As you can tell, your permanent disability rating can make a considerable difference in the amount of money you receive, over time, for your workers’ compensation claim. This is one area in which it pays to have a local California workers' comp lawyer; whether your permanent disability rating is accurate and sufficient is something that can be litigated. 

A note on total permanent disability

It’s very rare to have an injury that results in a disability rating of 100%. This only occurs if a person isn’t able to work in any capacity for the rest of their lives. Some examples that may qualify for an 100% rating include blindness in both eyes, total paralysis, or losing the use of both arms.

If you do qualify for total permanent disability benefits, you’ll receive payments for life. The amount of these payments, again, is equal to two-thirds of your pre-injury average weekly wages.

Mileage reimbursements in 2024

If you have to drive to get care after your injury, you can be reimbursed for transportation. This includes parking, mileage, and bridge tolls for any transit to doctors, hospitals, therapy or the pharmacy.

Reimbursement rates are as follows:

Death benefits in 2024

If an employee dies in a work-related accident, their families are entitled to a few types of financial benefits. First, there’s a fixed amount for burial expenses — up to $5,000 if the incident occurred before 2013, $10,000 if the incident occurred after 2013. 

Death benefits are calculated based on the amount of dependents. The rules about dependency are complicated, but in general, a dependent is anyone who was reliant on employee for financial support (They also have to make under $30,000 a year on their own). 

You can also be a “partial” dependent, if you relied on the employee for financial support, but had other significant sources of support. 

These amounts aren’t paid out all at once. They’re paid at the same rate as temporary disability benefits. So dependents receive a payment weekly equal to two thirds of the workers average weekly salary.

Get your maximum workers’ compensation payout

While the compensation for workers' comp in California looks clear cut, the healthcare you’re entitled to, your permanent disability rating, and your overall settlement amount can be negotiated. Having the right lawyer on your team can make all the difference. 

At Atticus, our team vets workers’ compensation attorneys around the country, and handpicks the best-fit lawyer for each case. We offer free legal advice, and our services are always free. Get started today.

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Related resources:

California Workers' Comp: Everything You Need to Know

By Victoria Muñoz

Your Guide to California Workers’ Comp Settlements

By Victoria Muñoz