Workers’ Comp Deposition Expenses: What to Save, Request, and Review

If the employer or insurer requests your deposition in a California workers’ compensation matter, Cal. Lab. Code § 5710(b) identifies benefits that can accompany your attendance: reasonable travel-related expenses, lost wages during attendance, a free transcript copy, qualifying attorney fees, and necessary interpretation. Keep these items separate. A dispute about the transcript signature does not answer whether a particular travel charge was reasonable, and an attorney-fee request is not the same as your wage-loss reimbursement.

The practical task is to build a small, accurate deposition file. It should show who requested the deposition, what you actually spent or lost, when the transcript became available, and which requests have been served. That record helps distinguish a missing document from a genuine disagreement over entitlement or amount.

Identify the request that triggers the statute

Section 5710(b) applies when an employer or insurance carrier requests the deposition of an injured employee or a person claiming benefits as a dependent. Do not assume every witness or every voluntarily arranged interview receives the same package. Keep the notice and any rescheduling messages so the identity of the requesting party and the attendance requirement remain clear.

The statute lists reasonable transportation, meals, and lodging incident to the deposition; reimbursement for wages lost during attendance; one transcript copy without cost; a reasonable allowance for a qualifying California attorney’s services; and interpretation when the statutory conditions are satisfied. Each category has its own factual basis. For instance, a hotel receipt establishes an expenditure but may not explain why an overnight stay was reasonably required.

Create an expense record that can be checked

Record the departure and return times, destination, method of travel, and purpose of each expense. Retain receipts and the original appointment notice. If the deposition is remote, preserve the remote-attendance instructions and ask counsel how any claimed cost fits the statute; a remote appearance does not justify inventing a commute or meal expense.

For lost wages, save the schedule, pay rate information, attendance record, and pay statement showing the loss. Distinguish time spent attending the deposition from other absences. Explain whether paid leave was used rather than labeling every missed scheduled hour as an unpaid wage loss. The correct treatment depends on the actual facts, not a template amount copied from another person’s claim.

An illustrative example: a worker travels to a morning deposition, misses part of a scheduled shift, and pays for parking. A useful request attaches the parking receipt and payroll support, lists the actual travel, and explains the attendance interval. A single unexplained “deposition costs” total is harder to evaluate and may hide categories that require different proof.

Review the transcript on its own timetable

Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 2025.520 addresses notice that a stenographic transcript is ready for review, corrections, and approval. Its ordinary review period is 30 days following the notice, subject to the agreements and court orders described in the statute. Record the actual notice date and any agreed variation; the deposition date alone is not the complete calculation.

Review with counsel for accurately transcribed answers, names, dates, and other material details. Distinguish a transcription error from a later recollection or a substantive change, and handle corrections through the required process. Do not assume that refusing to sign erases the testimony. Subdivision (f) generally gives an unapproved transcript the same effect as an approved one, subject to timely changes, with further provisions addressing a motion to suppress.

The Lett decision analysis explains why the WCAB rejected a signature prerequisite to a reasonable section 5710 attorney-fee allowance. The decision protects a particular fee rule; it does not recommend ignoring transcript review or excuse false testimony.

Distinguish your reimbursement from counsel’s fee petition

The WCAB sets a reasonable attorney-fee allowance under the statute; it is not automatically the amount requested, and Lett did not establish a universal hourly rate. Cal. Code Regs. tit. 8, § 10547 supplies current petition requirements, including verification and the attorney’s name and State Bar number.

That rule also requires at least 30 days after service of a written demand before the petition is filed or served. The petition must include the demand and its proof of service, any response, and proof of service on the worker and the defendant alleged to owe the fees. These are procedural prerequisites to evaluate with counsel, not permission to wait indefinitely on other issues.

Practical steps before sending a request

1. Separate travel, meals, lodging, wage loss, transcript, interpreter, and attorney-fee issues.
2. Attach support for the actual amount and explain why each expense relates to the deposition.
3. Calendar transcript review from the reporter’s notice and preserve any agreement changing that period.
4. Keep the written demand, proof of service, responses, and payment records together.
5. Ask counsel to identify the precise remaining dispute before a petition is prepared.

For workers, this organization reduces the chance that a dispute over one category delays clarification of every other request. Our claim evidence guide addresses the broader file, while the QME communications guide covers a different kind of testimony and record process. Keep those medical-legal rules separate from deposition procedure.

If reimbursement or a transcript-related fee objection remains unresolved, contact Mishra X with the notice, demand, and response. An assessment can focus on the missing proof or disputed legal condition rather than reconstructing the file from memory.

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