“I am glad and so very pleased...he made happen what no other attorney could do. So far he has proven his weight in gold.”
Jamal Sharples
Antelope Valley
✦ Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law — Certified by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization ✦
Construction is California’s most dangerous industry. When you’re injured, experience matters.
By Eman Yazdchi, Esq. · Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law, State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization
In California, an injured Mojave construction worker — laborer, framer, electrician, or pipefitter on Mojave Air & Space Port projects, 14/58 corridor infrastructure, or BNSF rail-yard work — recovers medical care, wage replacement, and a permanent disability rating, with a 50% serious-and-willful penalty available under Labor Code §4553. Yazdchi Law is a Certified Specialist firm.
Mojave construction sits at the intersection of three build patterns. The first is aerospace and space-launch infrastructure at the Mojave Air & Space Port — home to Scaled Composites (the SpaceShipOne legacy), Virgin Galactic, Northrop Grumman test operations, and Stratolaunch — where hangar build-outs, runway upgrades, and tenant-improvement work are ongoing. The second is the 14 and 58 truck-corridor infrastructure — bridge repair, interchange upgrades, and Caltrans-anchored highway work. The third is BNSF Mojave-subdivision rail-yard maintenance and capacity expansion. Each generates a different injury profile, and all three route to the Bakersfield WCAB district.
The injury patterns are the California construction baseline magnified by Kern desert and aerospace-jobsite conditions. Falls from leading edges, ladders, and scaffolds on hangar build-outs and bridge work. Struck-by injuries from forklifts staging composite panels and from delivery trucks on tight aerospace-jobsite cul-de-sacs. Crush injuries from concrete forms and rebar on runway-upgrade and bridge-deck pours. Electrical injuries on tenant-improvement re-feeds in aerospace facilities. Excavation and trench injuries on rail-yard work. Heat illness on summer roofing and concrete pours when surface temperatures regularly exceed 110°F in the Kern desert.
Yazdchi Law's office at 1125 W Avenue M-14, Suite A in Palmdale sits about 25 miles south of Mojave via the 14. The firm does not maintain a Mojave satellite. Eman Yazdchi appears at the Bakersfield district office of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board on construction-injury matters, including California Labor Code §4553 serious-and-willful penalty cases against general contractors who knew of hazardous conditions, and is a Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law, certified by the California Board of Legal Specialization, State Bar of California.
A Mojave construction claim sits on the standard workers' compensation framework plus four construction-specific levers: the California Labor Code §4553 50% serious-and-willful penalty when the employer ignored a known hazard, the California Labor Code §2810 general-contractor due-diligence rule when a subcontractor lacked sufficient funds for legal compliance, the California Labor Code §2750.5 employee-presumption when the work required a contractor's license, and the California Labor Code §2775 ABC test for aerospace-contractor support roles often misclassified as 1099 work. This page sits within our broader our California construction-injury practice practice. Statute deep-dive: California Labor Code §4553 (serious-and-willful misconduct).
Under California Labor Code §4553, when a Mojave general contractor or employer knew of a dangerous condition and deliberately failed to fix it, the worker's compensation award is increased by 50%. The penalty is added to every component of the award — permanent disability under California Labor Code §4660, temporary disability under California Labor Code §4653, and medical benefits under California Labor Code §4600. Typical Mojave §4553 fact patterns: missing fall protection on a Mojave Air & Space Port hangar roof, missing trench shoring on rail-yard excavation, an inoperative tilt-panel rigging system on a 58-corridor bridge job, or a known electrical-feed energized on aerospace tenant-improvement work.
Under California Labor Code §2810, a general contractor may not enter a construction labor contract with a subcontractor when it knows or should know the contract lacks sufficient funds to comply with workers' compensation and other labor-law obligations. The rule lets an injured Mojave construction worker reach the general contractor when the direct-hire subcontractor is uninsured under California Labor Code §3700 or under-capitalized. Combined with California Labor Code §3706 — which lets a worker injured by an uninsured employer sue in civil court outside the exclusive-remedy bar of California Labor Code §3601 — §2810 gives the worker leverage that a single-employer claim does not.
Under California Labor Code §2750.5, a Mojave construction worker performing services requiring a Business and Professions Code section 7000 contractor's license is presumed to be an employee, not an independent contractor — regardless of any 1099 paperwork. The ABC test in California Labor Code §2775 applies to non-license-requiring aerospace-contractor support work — test-flight ground crews, composite-layup techs, propulsion-test support — that the Mojave Air & Space Port tenants (Scaled Composites, Virgin Galactic, Stratolaunch) sometimes try to push to 1099. Under §2775, the burden sits on the hiring party to prove freedom from control, work outside the usual course of business, and an independently established trade — a high bar on aerospace support work.
Under California Labor Code §6400, every Mojave employer must furnish employment and a place of employment that is safe and healthful. Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations holds the specific construction safety orders — fall protection (Title 8 §§1669–1671), excavation shoring (Title 8 §§1539–1543), electrical safety (Title 8 §§2300–2974) — that implement California Labor Code §6400. A knowing violation of a specific Title 8 construction safety order on a Mojave jobsite that contributed to an injury is the evidentiary core of a California Labor Code §4553 50% serious-and-willful penalty claim at the Bakersfield WCAB.
Injured at work in Mojave? Call (661) 273-1780
Tap to call →Mojave construction-injury cases are heard at the Bakersfield district office of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, the only WCAB in Kern County. Yazdchi Law regularly appears at the Bakersfield WCAB on construction matters, including California Labor Code §4553 serious-and-willful penalty allegations against general contractors and California Labor Code §2810 joint-employer petitions on Mojave Air & Space Port, 14/58-corridor, and BNSF rail-yard work. Related coverage: Mojave denied workers' comp claims.
For a serious Mojave construction injury, call 911. Antelope Valley Medical Center in Lancaster (about 30 miles south via the 14) and Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield (about 60 miles north via the 58) are the nearest acute receivers. Request the DWC-1 claim form within one working day of reporting under California Labor Code §5401. The 30-day employer-notice clock under California Labor Code §5400 runs from the date of the injury, and the one-year statute of limitations runs under California Labor Code §5405. Future medical care under California Labor Code §4600 continues for the life of the industrial injury on a Stipulated Award. Related coverage: Mojave workers' comp claims.
Cal/OSHA Title 8 §3395 requires every outdoor Mojave employer to provide water, shade once temperature reaches 80°F, mandatory cool-down rest, and a written Heat Illness Prevention Program. Title 8 §3396 imposes parallel duties indoors above 82°F. A knowing Title 8 §3395 violation that contributed to a heat-illness injury can support a California Labor Code §4553 50% serious-and-willful penalty.
Last reviewed by Eman Yazdchi, Esq., May 2026.
Ready to discuss your case? Schedule a free consultation.
Schedule Free ConsultationRead more testimonials →“I am glad and so very pleased...he made happen what no other attorney could do. So far he has proven his weight in gold.”