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Division of Workers' Compensation - Claims Adjudication Unit

Local Division of Workers' Compensation offices, sometimes called WCABs, provide judicial services to assist in the prompt and fair resolution of disputes that sometimes arise from workers' compensation claims. Local offices are part of the workers' compensation court system, where judges make decisions about cases, but they also provide other services for injured workers and employers. Most local offices have information and assistance (I&A) officers on staff. I&A officers are there to assist injured workers who don't have attorneys and help them navigate the system. Call 1-800-736-7401 for recorded information 24 hours a day or contact a local office directly.

Division of Workers' Compensation implements pilot project in Sacramento and San Diego. This project was designed to help reduce the number of expedited hearings and make the court system run more efficiently by simplifying the process of getting the parties in a disputed claim together to resolve their differences. Read more about this pilot project by clicking here. To participate in this project your case file must be in Sacramento or San Diego and you must use the request form.

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Anaheim - AHM
Bakersfield - BAK
Eureka - EUR
Fresno - FRE
Goleta - GOL
Grover Beach - GRO
Long Beach - LBO
Los Angeles - LAO
Marina del Rey - MDR
Oakland - OAK
Oxnard - OXN
Pomona - POM
Redding - RDG
Riverside - RIV
Sacramento - SAC
Salinas - SAL
San Bernardino - SBR
San Diego - SDO
San Francisco - SFO
San Jose - SJO
Santa Ana - ANA
Santa Rosa - SRO
Stockton - STK
Van Nuys - VNO

Claims adjudication activity at local DWC/WCAB offices

  2004 2005 2006 2007
Total opening documents* 192,020 155,405 143,194 138,615
Declarations of readiness** 294,334 292,595 302,175 335,599
Hearings held 295,784 349,045 357,945 333,421
Decisions issued 159,848 171,247 148,537 139,785
*Includes received applications for adjudication and settlement documents
**Includes window period applications

Claims adjudication activity 1997 - 2003

DWC and WCAB forms may be obtained by contacting a local DWC district office or they may be downloaded directly from here in Adobe Acrobat.

Assistance in completing the forms may be found in the DWC injured worker guides.

January 2008