A WCAB pre-trial conference statement is a joint document that the parties complete at the mandatory settlement conference, recording every stipulation, every disputed issue, every exhibit, and every witness the case will use if it goes to trial. California Labor Code Section 5502(d)(3) and California Code of Regulations Section 10759 set the requirements, and the reason to take those requirements seriously is simple: anything left off the statement can be excluded when you get to trial.1California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 55022Department of Industrial Relations. California Code of Regulations Title 8 10759 – Mandatory Settlement Conferences
When the Statement Is Prepared
The statement is not something you file days ahead of the mandatory settlement conference. It’s produced at the conference itself, typically on WCAB Form 24, and it’s a joint document, so both sides work on it together. The parties are required to meet and confer beforehand. If they can’t resolve the dispute, they must complete the joint pre-trial conference statement by the close of the MSC. The workers’ compensation judge then files it into the record and serves it on all parties.2Department of Industrial Relations. California Code of Regulations Title 8 10759 – Mandatory Settlement Conferences
Because the paperwork gets finalized at the conference, the real preparation happens before you walk in the door. Come with your stipulations sketched out, your exhibits gathered, and your witness list drafted. Trying to build any of that on the fly is how items get missed.
The Four Required Categories
Section 10759(b) requires the statement to cover four things: the issues in dispute, all stipulations, a list of exhibits, and all witnesses.2Department of Industrial Relations. California Code of Regulations Title 8 10759 – Mandatory Settlement Conferences Form 24 is built around those four categories.
Issues in Dispute
The form uses a checklist covering the disputes that come up most often in workers’ compensation cases:3Division of Workers’ Compensation. WCAB Form 24 – Pre-Trial Conference Statement
- Employment and insurance coverage — whether an employment relationship existed and whether the employer was properly insured
- Injury arising out of and in the course of employment — whether the injury qualifies as work-related
- Parts of body injured — which body parts are claimed versus which the defendant accepts
- Earnings and temporary disability — average weekly wage calculations and periods of temporary disability
- Permanent disability and apportionment — the level of permanent impairment and how much, if any, predates the work injury
- Need for further medical treatment — whether ongoing care is warranted
- Liens and attorney fees — outstanding medical provider liens and disputes over legal fees
Each party checks the issues that remain contested. The form also leaves space for issues that fall outside the standard checklist. Naming the disputed issues clearly is what keeps a trial focused instead of drifting into side arguments.
Stipulations
Stipulations are the facts both sides agree on. Recording them in the statement means the judge doesn’t have to hear evidence on settled ground. Common stipulations include the date of injury, the employment relationship, the insurance carrier, and the injured worker’s average weekly wage.
Labor Code Section 5702 lets the parties stipulate facts in writing and file them with the WCAB. The board can issue findings and an award on the stipulations alone, or it can set the matter for hearing and take additional testimony if it thinks more investigation is needed.4California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 5702 That last point catches people off guard: a stipulation between the parties is not absolutely binding on the judge. The WCAB retains authority to look behind it. That rarely happens, but a stipulation is not the same as a final ruling.
Exhibits
The exhibit list has to include every document a party plans to use at trial. Labor Code Section 5703 identifies the kinds of evidence the WCAB can receive: reports from treating and examining physicians, hospital records, employer records like timesheets and payroll data, and reports from vocational experts.5California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 5703
Medical evidence carries most workers’ compensation cases, and the WCAB strongly prefers it in written report form. Under California Code of Regulations Section 10682, a physician’s live testimony won’t be allowed at trial unless the party shows good cause for why a written report is not sufficient. The same rule applies to vocational experts.6Department of Industrial Relations. California Code of Regulations Title 8 10682 – Physicians Reports as Evidence That means the reports themselves need to be thorough: injury history, diagnosis, treatment plan, and any permanent disability rating. A thin report you were planning to shore up with live testimony probably won’t be allowed to fill in the gaps.
Beyond medical records, parties commonly list employment records, safety inspection logs, and wage documentation. Anything you might use at trial belongs on the list.
Witnesses
The statement must identify all witnesses who might testify. Under California Code of Regulations Section 372, a party can obtain the names and addresses of witnesses the other side intends to call, though this requires a written request.7Department of Industrial Relations. California Code of Regulations Title 8 372 – Identity of Witnesses Listing witnesses on the pre-trial conference statement serves the same purpose: it gives the other side time to prepare for cross-examination.
Typical witnesses include the treating physician, any qualified medical evaluator, coworkers who observed the injury or the working conditions, and supervisors who can describe job duties and restrictions. Because the WCAB favors written reports over live testimony for medical and vocational experts, the live witnesses at trial tend to be lay witnesses whose firsthand accounts corroborate or challenge the documents.
What Happens If Something Isn’t Listed
This is where the pre-trial conference statement carries real teeth. In lien cases, the regulations explicitly state that the right to present any issue, evidence, or witness not listed in the statement is waived unless the party shows good cause, and evidence that wasn’t disclosed and couldn’t have been discovered through reasonable diligence before the conference is inadmissible.8Department of Industrial Relations. California Code of Regulations Title 8 10875 – Lien Conferences The same principle governs the case in chief. Once trial starts, getting an unlisted exhibit or witness in front of the judge is an uphill fight.
Exclusion isn’t the only risk. Under Labor Code Section 5813, the judge or appeals board can order a party or their attorney to pay reasonable expenses, including attorney fees, incurred as a result of bad-faith actions or tactics that are frivolous or meant to cause unnecessary delay. The board can also impose additional sanctions of up to $2,500.9California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 5813 California Code of Regulations Section 10421 spells out what qualifies as sanctionable conduct, including failure to timely serve documents like medical reports and failure to comply with WCAB rules of practice.10Department of Industrial Relations. California Code of Regulations Title 8 10421 – Sanctions
The Lien Claimant Version
Medical providers and other lien claimants have their own pre-trial conference statement obligations. When lien disputes aren’t resolved at a lien conference, the defendant and the lien claimant must prepare and file a separate pre-trial conference statement covering all stipulations, the specific issues in dispute, all documentary evidence, and all witnesses.8Department of Industrial Relations. California Code of Regulations Title 8 10875 – Lien Conferences The waiver rule applies with particular force here. A provider who leaves billing records, treatment documentation, or expert witnesses off the statement risks losing that evidence entirely at the lien trial.
Preparing Before You Walk In
Meet with opposing counsel ahead of the conference to identify which facts can be stipulated. Every fact you agree on is a fact the trial doesn’t have to litigate. If you’re the defendant, bring a current printout of benefits paid; Section 10759 specifically requires it.2Department of Industrial Relations. California Code of Regulations Title 8 10759 – Mandatory Settlement Conferences
Have your exhibit list finalized before the conference. Every medical report, every wage statement, every vocational report you might conceivably use at trial belongs on it. Dropping an exhibit later is easy; adding one you forgot is hard. Do the same with witnesses. List anyone you might call, even the ones you’re not sure you’ll need. The statement sets the boundaries for trial, and those boundaries are difficult to expand once the ink is dry.