Workers' comp in California cities

Workers' compensation in Long Beach

By the Work Injury Compass editorial team · Last updated November 2026 · How we write and check guides

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The Long Beach district office

Long Beach district office (DWC / WCAB): 1500 Hughes Way, Suite C203, Long Beach, CA 90810. Phone 562-590-5001. Official page: Long Beach district office.

The office is in West Long Beach. DWC's page says parking is free through the front guard station, there's a café next door in Building Pod B, and Long Beach Transit buses serve the site. Units in this office: an Information & Assistance unit and a Disability Evaluation Unit, which prepares permanent disability ratings. For uninsured-employer claims, the Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund unit is at the downtown Los Angeles office.

Which cases are heard here

DWC's ZIP code list assigns all Long Beach 908xx ZIP codes to this office. It also assigns the City of Los Angeles harbor neighborhoods (90731 San Pedro, 90744 Wilmington, 90710 Harbor City) and nearby South Bay and Gateway cities. Venue for the Application for Adjudication can also be where you live, where the injury happened, or where your lawyer's principal office is, if you have one (Labor Code §5501.5). Port workers often live in one county and work in another, so check the WCAB offices page.

Hearings and free help

Since March 3, 2025, DWC holds status conferences, mandatory settlement conferences, priority conferences and lien conferences on a video platform, with each judge's virtual courtroom link on DWC's website and on the hearing notice. Trials, lien trials and expedited hearings are still set in person. Court is in session from 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 5 p.m. Walk-through settlements and other walk-through documents are taken Monday to Friday, 8 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 4 p.m. The office has an Information & Assistance (I&A) unit. I&A officers are DWC staff who answer questions and help workers without a lawyer for free; they can't represent you. The statewide line is 1-800-736-7401. The office pages also list free injured-worker workshops by video, at 3 p.m. on the first Friday (English) and third Friday (Spanish) of each month.

Port and dock work

The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles employ longshore workers, clerks, mechanics, crane operators and thousands of contractors. Common injuries include crush and struck-by injuries, falls from equipment, back and shoulder injuries from lashing and lifting, hearing loss from constant noise, and cumulative injuries from years of operating heavy equipment.

A federal wrinkle: some maritime workers injured on or near navigable waters are also covered by a federal program, the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act. That's a separate system with its own forms and deadlines, and a worker can sometimes have rights under both. This page covers only the California claim. If you work on the docks, piers or vessels, ask early which system or systems apply.

Trucking, drayage and warehouses

Port trucks feed a huge network of warehouses and distribution centers. Typical claims are lifting and repetitive picking injuries, forklift and dock-plate accidents, falls from trailers, and crashes. Many port truck drivers have been treated as independent contractors. Under California's ABC test, many of them are actually employees entitled to workers' comp (Labor Code §2775; see misclassification). Warehouse workers in hot buildings are protected by Cal/OSHA's indoor heat rule (tit. 8, §3396); see heat illness.

Refineries, aerospace and manufacturing

Refineries and industrial plants in and around Long Beach and Wilmington bring burn, chemical-exposure and respiratory claims, as well as noise-induced hearing loss. Aerospace and other manufacturing bring repetitive-motion and shoulder injuries. Exposure illnesses often show up years later; the claim date is when you first had disability and knew it was work-related (Labor Code §5412). See cumulative trauma.

Hospitals, schools, hotels and restaurants

Long Beach is also a large health care, education and hospitality city. Expect patient-handling back injuries, workplace-violence injuries, slip-and-falls in kitchens and convention venues, and housekeeping repetitive injuries. Public employees such as city, school district and port workers are covered too, often by a self-insured public employer. Police officers and firefighters may have special presumptions; see first responder presumptions.

Steps after a work injury in Long Beach

1. Report the injury in writing within 30 days (Labor Code §5400); see how to report.
2. File a DWC-1 and keep the dated copy (DWC-1 guide).
3. Get care from your employer's MPN doctor if it has a network; after the first visit you can change doctors within it (choosing a doctor).
4. Track TD pay if you're off work. 2026 injuries pay $264.61 to $1,764.11 a week (TD calculator).
5. Watch your deadlines: 90 days for the insurer's decision (§5402) and one year to file with the WCAB (§5405).
6. Get help from I&A or a workers' comp attorney; Long Beach is in Los Angeles County, so see our Los Angeles County attorney directory.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different. For free help from the state, call the DWC Information & Assistance unit at 1-800-736-7401.