How Do I Get Medical Mileage Reimbursed by Workers' Comp in California?

You drove to every appointment. You sat in waiting rooms. Nobody told you the insurance company owes you money for every one of those trips.

California workers' comp requires the carrier to pay for transportation to authorized medical care. That covers physical therapy, specialist visits, diagnostic imaging, and pharmacy pickups for prescribed medication. The current reimbursement rate is 72.5 cents per mile, round trip from your home.

Most injured workers never file these requests. Over a long claim, unpaid mileage can reach several thousand dollars. Eman Yazdchi is a Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law, California Board of Legal Specialization, State Bar of California. The firm recovers unpaid mileage as part of every case. Call (661) 273-1780.

What is the legal basis for mileage reimbursement?

Labor Code 4600 requires the employer and carrier to pay all transportation costs to and from authorized medical treatment for the work injury, at the current annual mileage rate.

The obligation is broad. It covers your own car, a ride from a family member, a taxi, or a ride-share. What matters is whether the trip was to an authorized appointment for the work injury. The starting point for distance calculation is your home address, not your workplace.

The reimbursement rate changes each year. The 2026 rate is 72.5 cents per mile. That applies to the full round-trip distance. A specialist 30 miles from your home produces a 60-mile reimbursable round trip. At the current rate, that is $43.50 per visit. A weekly physical therapy session 15 miles away adds $21.75 per visit. Over a year of weekly sessions, that is roughly $1,131 in uncollected mileage.

Parking fees at medical facilities are reimbursable under Labor Code 4600. Road tolls during authorized medical travel are covered too. Save every receipt and attach them to your monthly mileage submission.

Which trips qualify for reimbursement?

Every authorized round trip counts: primary treating physician, specialist consultations, physical therapy, diagnostic imaging, QME evaluations, and pharmacy pickups for prescribed workers' comp medication.

Qualifying trips include visits to your treating doctor, specialist referrals your treating doctor ordered, physical therapy or occupational therapy sessions, MRI and X-ray appointments, evaluations by a Qualified Medical Evaluator or Agreed Medical Evaluator, and trips to pick up medications prescribed under the claim.

Non-authorized treatment generally does not qualify. If you saw a doctor outside the Medical Provider Network without carrier approval, those trips may not be reimbursable. Keep written authorizations for every specialist referral. That documentation protects your mileage claim if the carrier disputes the trip later.

Pharmacy pickups deserve special mention. Many workers skip these claims. Every round trip to pick up a prescribed medication counts. If a prescription refill takes ten minutes, the round trip is still fully reimbursable. Over months of regular refills, pharmacy mileage adds a meaningful amount to the total that most workers never collect.

How do I submit a mileage claim?

Complete the DWC Mileage Reimbursement form monthly, listing each trip with date, provider address, and round-trip distance, then send it to the carrier with supporting appointment records.

The DWC publishes a standard form. Many carriers have their own version. Either is valid. Fill in the date of each trip, the provider name and address, your home address as the starting point, the one-way mileage, and the round-trip total. Add parking receipts and toll receipts to the same submission.

Submit every month. Monthly submissions keep documentation current. They prevent the carrier from claiming later that appointment dates cannot be verified. After each submission, keep a copy and note the date you sent it. If you submit by mail, use certified mail and keep the tracking receipt.

If you have unsubmitted mileage from prior months or even prior years, gather the appointment records, calculate the round-trip distances, and send a consolidated historical request. Many carriers will pay well-documented historical mileage, especially when counsel is involved. There is no absolute cutoff in the mileage statute for prior claims.

What if the carrier refuses to pay?

Unreasonable delay in paying mileage triggers a Labor Code 5814 penalty petition, which can add up to 25 percent of the unpaid amount to what the carrier already owes you, with a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $10,000.

Start by documenting the refusal. Note the date you submitted the request and the date you received a denial or no response. If multiple submissions have gone unpaid, list them all with their submission dates and amounts.

Then file a Petition for Penalty at the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board under Labor Code 5814. The penalty is up to 25 percent of the delayed amount. The minimum is $100. The maximum is $10,000. For a worker with years of unpaid mileage, the carrier faces real penalty exposure.

Most disputes resolve after the petition is filed. Carriers typically prefer to pay the mileage plus interest rather than contest the penalty at a hearing. Counsel involvement usually speeds up the resolution. Yazdchi Law pursues unpaid mileage and penalty petitions for workers throughout Greater Los Angeles. Call (661) 273-1780 to discuss your situation.

Workers across Greater Los Angeles often travel long distances to reach Medical Provider Network providers. A worker in the Antelope Valley may drive 40 miles each way to reach a specialist in the San Fernando Valley. Workers near the Inland Empire sometimes travel to Long Beach or downtown Los Angeles for QME evaluations. These distances produce real reimbursement amounts over the life of a claim.

Yazdchi Law appears regularly at the WCAB offices in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Pomona, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Oxnard. Eman Yazdchi is a Certified Specialist in workers' compensation law, certified by the California Board of Legal Specialization, State Bar of California. If your mileage has gone unpaid, call (661) 273-1780 for a review of what you are owed.