Denied and disputed claims
When an insurer disputes that your injury arose out of employment, the fight becomes evidentiary. This office knows how those denials are built — and how to take them apart.
California Workers' Compensation Attorney
Both sides of the system.
One side of the table.
Mike Herrin spent years defending workers' compensation claims for the City of San Diego. Today he uses that experience for injured workers — people hurt on the job who are told their benefits are someone else's decision.
22+
Years licensed in California
2003
Admitted to the California Bar
Active
California license status
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Michael J. Herrin, Attorney at Law
- Active California Bar License #228951
- Former San Diego Deputy City Attorney
- Former Dean, Western Sierra Law School
- Workers' Compensation Appeals Board practice
About Mike Herrin
An uncommon vantage point on a difficult system
Michael Joseph Herrin was admitted to the California Bar on December 1, 2003. He has practiced for more than two decades, and his State Bar record shows an active license with no disciplinary or administrative actions.
Much of that career was spent inside government. As a San Diego Deputy City Attorney, he worked in the City's Workers' Compensation Unit — advising claims adjusters and handling trials, appeals, medical liens, death benefits, discovery, hearings, and settlement conferences. It was a high-volume practice: in 2011 the four-lawyer unit handled more than 1,100 active cases, 266 hearings, 71 depositions, and 23 trials.
That work means he has seen how claims get evaluated, questioned, and defended long before they reach a judge. He now brings that perspective to the other side of the table, representing workers whose injuries have upended their ability to earn a living.
Experience on both sides
Defended workers' compensation claims for a major California city before representing injured workers.
Trusted with leadership
Served as vice president of the San Diego Deputy City Attorneys Association and signed its 2012–2013 labor agreement.
A teacher of lawyers
Graduated from Western Sierra Law School and later served as its dean, leading its faculty and students.
Civic service
Represented the City Attorney's Office on the Justice Systems committee for San Diego's Plan to End Chronic Homelessness.
How this office helps injured workers
This practice focuses on California workers' compensation. These are the situations where experienced representation matters most.
Psychiatric injury claims
Psychiatric claims carry heightened causation requirements and are frequently contested, especially where a pre-existing condition is involved. They demand careful medical proof.
Permanent and total disability
When an injury ends a career, the stakes shift to lifetime benefits, future medical care, and the value of the care you will actually need.
Home health care disputes
Family members who provide medical care at home are routinely reimbursed at a fraction of what an agency would charge. That valuation can and should be challenged.
Continuing medical treatment
Utilization review and treatment denials can cut off care while you are still hurt. Securing ongoing treatment is often the most urgent part of a case.
Appeals and reconsideration
An unfavorable award is not always the end. Petitions for reconsideration before the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board can change the outcome.
Recent documented results
These outcomes are drawn from published decisions of the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. Links to the official decisions are provided so you can read them yourself.
Home health care valuation
Home-care rates increased to $38 and $80 per hour
A worker was found permanently and totally disabled after a serious neck injury. The central dispute was the value of extensive home health care provided by his spouse.
The initial rates were set at roughly $17.53 an hour for regular caregiving and $53.55 for nursing-equivalent care. The petition for reconsideration argued that reimbursement should reflect what the insurer would actually pay an outside agency — not merely the wages an agency pays its own employees, which ignores health insurance, retirement, leave, and workers' compensation coverage.
The Appeals Board agreed, quoting that reasoning and increasing the rates to $38 an hour for caregiver services and $80 an hour for nursing-equivalent services. The insurer challenged the enhanced rates; in April 2026 the Board denied its petition and the result stood.
Psychiatric injury
Benefits upheld for a nurse injured in a workplace assault
A psychiatric nurse was repeatedly kicked in the face by a patient and suffered an aggravation of PTSD. The employer's insurer challenged the resulting award.
The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board upheld findings that the nurse sustained compensable psychiatric injuries, was entitled to continuing temporary total disability benefits, and required further medical treatment, together with a 15% attorney fee. The insurer's petition for reconsideration was denied on May 9, 2023.
The case turned on difficult ground: psychiatric injury, a pre-existing condition, workplace violence, and the heightened causation standard that applies to psychiatric claims.
Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case. Every claim is decided on its own facts and medical evidence.
Experience and background
Every item below is drawn from a public record. Sources are linked.
2003
Admitted to the California Bar
Licensed December 1, 2003. Active status, no disciplinary or administrative actions on record. License #228951.
State Bar profile →2005
Plan to End Chronic Homelessness
Represented the San Diego City Attorney's Office on the Justice Systems committee, alongside judges, law enforcement, corrections officials, Legal Aid, and veterans' advocates.
Committee roster →2009
San Diego Deputy City Attorney
Served in the City's Workers' Compensation Unit, which advised claims adjusters and handled trials, appeals, medical liens, death benefits, discovery, hearings, and settlement conferences.
City Attorney annual report →2011
A high-volume municipal practice
One of four attorneys in a unit handling more than 1,100 active cases, 266 hearings, 71 depositions, two appeals, and 23 trials in a single year. These are unit-wide figures, not individual results.
City Attorney annual report →2012
Vice President, Deputy City Attorneys Association
Elected by colleagues to association leadership and signed the 2012–2013 memorandum of understanding with the City.
Signed agreement →2017
Dean, Western Sierra Law School
A graduate of the school, he returned to lead it. A State Bar compliance report identifies him as dean of a school with 30 students and eight part-time faculty members.
2017 compliance report →2020
Transition of the school
A filing accompanying the school's change of ownership stated that he stepped down to facilitate the transition and described his work as excellent.
Ownership-change filing →Questions injured workers ask
What does it cost to hire a workers' compensation attorney?
In California, attorney fees in workers' compensation cases must be approved by a workers' compensation judge and are usually 9% to 15% of the final permanent-disability award. The fee is normally deducted from the award rather than paid up front.
My claim was denied. Is it over?
No. A denial is the insurer's position, not a final ruling. Denied claims are litigated before the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board every day, and unfavorable findings can be challenged by petition for reconsideration.
How long do I have to file?
Deadlines in workers' compensation are strict and depend on the type of injury and when it was discovered. Because a missed deadline can end an otherwise strong claim, it is worth asking about your specific dates as early as possible.
Can I be fired for filing a claim?
An employer may not fire or discriminate against an employee because the employee filed, or said they intended to file, a workers' compensation claim. Other employment and job-protection rules can depend on the facts, and special filing deadlines may apply, so suspected retaliation should be raised promptly.
My spouse takes care of me at home. Is that covered?
It can be. Home health care provided by a family member may be compensable, and the hourly value of that care is frequently disputed. This office has litigated exactly that question before the Appeals Board.
Do you handle psychiatric injury claims?
Yes. Psychiatric claims carry a heightened causation standard and are often contested, particularly where there is a pre-existing condition. They require careful medical evidence.
Tell us what happened
Describe your injury and what the insurer has told you. The office can review the information and discuss possible next steps with you.
Phone
(858) 945-3914
Call the office
Email
MikeHerrinLaw@gmail.com
Office
771 Jamacha Rd, PMB 360
El Cajon, CA 92019
El Cajon, CA 92019
Hours
By appointment