How much is a hernia worth in California workers’ comp?

Engine-computed at the 2026 maximum, age 37–41: a repaired hernia with mild residuals (3% WPI) rates 3–6% PD ($2,610–$5,220) depending on occupation; persistent post-repair symptoms at 10% WPI rate 10–18% PD ($8,772.50–$18,995); severe or recurrent cases at 16% WPI reach 16–27% PD ($16,095–$32,697.50) — plus TD through surgery and recovery.

Does a repaired hernia still get a rating?

Only from what remains. A clean mesh repair with no residuals can rate at or near zero; ratings come from persistent pain, activity limits, and complications — which is why the P&S exam’s documentation of residual symptoms, not the original tear, decides the money. Recurrence after repair typically relates back to the original claim.

Hernia Injuries in California Workers’ Comp: What They’re Worth

Q: Is a hernia covered by workers’ comp in California?

Yes, when work caused it — the classic pattern is a specific lift with immediate pain, but cumulative strain claims are recognized too. For qualifying firefighters and peace officers, hernia is on the §3212 presumption list: it is presumed industrial and the employer must disprove it, with apportionment barred by §4663(e).

What a work hernia pays in California workers’ comp: engine-computed PD and dollars across the WPI range and three occupations, the one-lift vs cumulative-trauma framing, the safety-member presumption, and why the residuals — not the tear — set the rating.

The hernia is comp’s oldest lifting claim — one bad pull, immediate pain, a surgery, and then the question that actually sets the money: what’s left after the repair? The schedule prices hernias as lifting problems, and the residuals drive everything. Figures computed by the engine.

How hernias are measured

Hernias rate under 06.05.00.00 (digestive chapter) from what persists at P&S: a clean repair with no symptoms rates near zero; residual pain, activity restriction, or palpable defect pushes into the mid single digits; complicated or recurrent cases climb into the teens. The AMA classes turn on symptoms and limitation — the operative report matters less than the P&S exam.

The money table

Final PD and total indemnity at age 37–41, 2026 injury, maximum PD rate, before apportionment:

WPI	Clerical · 111	Custodian · 340	Carpenter · 380
3%	3% · $2,610	5% · $4,350	6% · $5,220
6%	6% · $5,220	9% · $7,830	11% · $9,932.50
10%	10% · $8,772.50	16% · $16,095	18% · $18,995
16%	16% · $16,095	24% · $27,695	27% · $32,697.50

10% WPI · group 380 · carpenter

100% (06.05.00.00 - 10 - [1.4]14 - 380H - 18 - 18) = 18% PD · $18,995

Clerical draws variant C — the schedule’s low end — because a repaired hernia barely changes desk work, while the lifting trades draw H. The same logic as the fusion page: the variant prices what the injury takes from that job.

One lift or a career

Most hernia claims are specific injuries — the lift, the pop, the same-day report (and prompt reporting matters enormously here, since defense doctors love the “pre-existing weakness” theme). Gradual-onset cases run as cumulative trauma on §5412 dates. And for qualifying firefighters and peace officers, hernia sits on the §3212 presumption list — presumed industrial, apportionment barred.

What this table can’t tell you

Wages below the maximum scale the dollars down, mesh complications and recurrence belong in the medical award, bilateral hernias combine on the CVC, and TD through repair and recovery runs on the payment clock. Companion pages: back · knee · shoulder · neck · hip · wrist · ankle · elbow · foot · hand · carpal tunnel · hearing · eye · amputation · fusion · knee replacement · rotator cuff · hip replacement · head injury · lungs · heart. Estimates for informational use; not legal or medical advice.

Rate your hernia right here

Same engine as the tables above — pick your occupation and age, slide the WPI from the report, and carry it into the full calculator when you’re ready.

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