“Eman at Yazdchi Law was extremely professional, responsive, and supportive at all times. He and his staff exceeded all of my expectations.”
Andrea Dalessandro
✦ Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law — Certified by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization ✦
Serving injured workers across California. Board-certified specialist; no fee unless we win.
By Eman Yazdchi, Esq. · Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law, State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization
In California, a work-related amputation qualifies for the full catastrophic workers' compensation package — lifetime medical care, prosthetics and prosthetic replacement, a high permanent disability rating, and (where the facts support it) a 50% serious-and-willful penalty. Yazdchi Law, a Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law firm, handles California amputation claims statewide. Request a free case review.
An amputation is a permanent, life-altering workers' compensation injury — and one that California's rating system, prosthetics coverage, and serious-and-willful framework treat as a catastrophic claim. Lifetime medical care includes the prosthetic itself plus its replacement (a typical prosthetic limb is replaced every three to five years), the residual-limb skin and stump-revision care, phantom-limb pain management, ongoing physical and occupational therapy, and psychological care. The permanent disability rating is built on Whole Person Impairment percentages from the AMA Guides 5th Edition Chapter 16 (Upper Extremity) or Chapter 17 (Lower Extremity).
The injury mechanism is industry-defining: unguarded machines in manufacturing, conveyor and crusher entanglements in warehousing, saw and lathe injuries in woodworking, agricultural-equipment entanglements in California's farming and packing operations, and serious motor-vehicle and crush injuries in trucking and construction. Many California amputation cases involve a Cal/OSHA citation against the employer for a missing machine guard or a violated lock-out / tag-out procedure — facts that support a California Labor Code §4553 serious-and-willful penalty.
Yazdchi Law represents California workers with amputation injuries statewide, from a home office at 1125 W Avenue M-14 in Palmdale with regular appearances at the Van Nuys, Bakersfield, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Pomona, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Oxnard WCAB districts. Eman Yazdchi is a Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law, certified by the California Board of Legal Specialization, State Bar of California.
An amputation claim runs on parallel tracks: the acute surgical and prosthetic-fitting medical track, the permanent-disability rating track under the AMA Guides 5th Edition, the California Labor Code §4658.7 voucher track (because return to the pre-injury job is rarely available after an amputation), and — where the facts support it — the California Labor Code §4553 serious-and-willful penalty track and a parallel civil third-party case against an equipment manufacturer.
Under California Labor Code §4600, the California employer must provide all medical treatment reasonably required to cure or relieve the effects of the amputation — emergency surgical care including replantation attempts where viable, stump revision and skin care, the prosthetic device, prosthetic replacement every three to five years for the worker's lifetime, prosthetic socket adjustments as residual-limb shape changes, ongoing physical and occupational therapy, phantom-limb pain management, and psychological care for the trauma of the amputation. Up to $10,000 in immediate treatment must be authorized within one day of the DWC-1 form under California Labor Code §5402(c).
Under California Labor Code §4660, the AMA Guides 5th Edition assigns specific Whole Person Impairment percentages to amputations: a transtibial (below-knee) amputation is approximately 32% WPI; a transfemoral (above-knee) amputation is approximately 40% WPI; a transhumeral (above-elbow) upper-extremity amputation is approximately 57% WPI; a transradial (below-elbow) amputation is approximately 54% WPI; a complete hand amputation is approximately 54% WPI; finger amputations rate lower depending on the specific digit and level. The WPI is adjusted for occupation and age under the Permanent Disability Rating Schedule; a heavy-laborer worker's final permanent disability rating commonly substantially exceeds the WPI.
Under California Labor Code §4553, when a California employer's serious-and-willful misconduct caused the amputation — a missing machine guard on a saw or press cited by Cal/OSHA, a violated lock-out / tag-out procedure where the employer knew the machine was unsafe, a forklift overhead guard removed for production speed — the workers' compensation award is increased by 50%. The penalty applies across the claim: temporary disability, permanent disability indemnity, and lifetime future medical care under California Labor Code §4600 (including the lifetime prosthetics). Cal/OSHA citation records are powerful evidence in support of the §4553 petition.
Workers' compensation under California Labor Code §3600 is the exclusive remedy against the direct employer, but it does not foreclose a civil third-party case against the manufacturer of the machine, lift, or vehicle that caused the amputation. A California product-liability claim against a defective forklift, a missing-guard manufacturer, or a defective machine recovers pain and suffering, full lost earnings, and loss of consortium — damages workers' compensation does not pay. The civil and the comp claims are pursued in parallel; a workers' compensation specialist coordinates the statutory comp lien against the civil recovery to maximize the worker's net.
Injured at work? Call (661) 273-1780
Tap to call →California amputation workers' compensation claims are heard at the WCAB district office nearest the worker's home or worksite. The WCAB operates 24 district offices statewide. Yazdchi Law appears at the Van Nuys, Bakersfield, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Pomona, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Oxnard districts. The Division of Workers' Compensation publishes the procedural rules and the current benefit-rate schedule.
The most common California amputation fact patterns involve unguarded machines: table saws, band saws, conveyors and crushers, hydraulic presses, forklift mast and forks, agricultural augers and PTO shafts. Lock-out / tag-out procedure violations during maintenance and cleaning produce a disproportionate share of catastrophic amputation injuries. Each fact pattern supports both a California Labor Code §4553 serious-and-willful penalty against the employer and a parallel civil product-liability claim against the equipment manufacturer. The Cal/OSHA investigation file is often the most important early evidence.
Yazdchi Law P.C., 1125 W Avenue M-14, Suite A, Palmdale, CA 93551. (661) 273-3939. Free consultations on California amputation workers' compensation claims statewide. Workers' compensation attorney fees are contingent and set by the WCAB under California Labor Code §4906 — nothing owed unless the case recovers. Eman Yazdchi, Esq., is a Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law, certified by the California Board of Legal Specialization, State Bar of California.
Last reviewed by Eman Yazdchi, Esq., May 2026.
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