Workers’ comp answer engines deal with a problem most legal questions do not: the correct answer changes at every state line. An injured worker who asks how long they have to report an injury gets one rule in California and a differently worded rule in Florida.
A law firm page earns its place in an AI answer by adding what the state agency’s summary leaves out: the statute, the exception and the date.
Those details decide whether a workers’ compensation lawyer’s page gets quoted.
Answer engines can safely quote a workers’ comp page only when it names the state, cites the statute and dates the figure.
A national “what is workers’ comp” page answers no one’s actual question.
Workers’ Comp Rules Change at the State Line
Workers’ comp rules are written state by state, so a national answer to a comp question is wrong somewhere. Private industry employers reported 2.5 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics release of January 22, 2026.
Employment law looks different. One federal agency, the EEOC, answers most discrimination questions nationwide, which changes how employment law FAQ pages are planned.
Workers’ comp has a separate agency and a separate rulebook in every state. An answer engine has to pick the right state’s rule, and a page that names its state makes that easy.
The Same Two Workers’ Comp Numbers, Measured Two Different Ways
California and Florida workers’ comp rules look identical at a glance: both give an injured worker 30 days to report an injury and both pay about two-thirds of wages during temporary disability. The details are where the answers split.
| California | Florida | |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting deadline | 30 days after the injury (Labor Code section 5400) | 30 days after the injury or its initial manifestation (section 440.185) |
| Temporary disability pay | Two-thirds of gross lost wages, as a general rule | 66 2/3 percent of average weekly wages, up to 104 weeks (section 440.15) |
Under Florida’s notice statute, section 440.185, the clock starts at the injury or its “initial manifestation,” which matters for conditions that develop slowly. Temporary disability benefits are capped at 104 weeks combined under section 440.15, except as that section provides. In California, two-thirds is a general rule rather than a fixed figure, according to the Division of Workers’ Compensation’s employee FAQ.
A page that says “you have 30 days and get two-thirds of your wages” is right in both states and complete in neither.
Where a Workers’ Comp Firm Page Adds to the State Agency Page
A workers’ comp firm page adds value by going one level deeper than the agency summary. A California worker who misses the 30-day window “could lose” the right to benefits, in the words of the Division of Workers’ Compensation’s page for injured workers. Under Labor Code section 5400, a claim cannot proceed without written notice to the employer within 30 days, “except as provided by sections 5402 and 5403.”
A firm page can quote the statute, name the exceptions and explain in plain terms when late notice still leaves a claim alive. That gives an answer engine a statute-level answer to quote. The same approach works for personal injury answers built on a named statute.
Writing for Injured Workers Without Soliciting Them
Workers’ comp attorneys can write content aimed at injured workers without running into the ABA’s solicitation rule, because that rule separates public content from direct contact. Under Comment 1 to ABA Model Rule 7.3, a communication is not a solicitation if it is directed to the general public, such as through a website. ABA Model Rule 7.1 still applies to a lawyer’s communications about the lawyer’s services: nothing false or misleading.
Three checks keep a comp page accurate before it publishes:
- Name the state in the first sentence of every answer.
- Cite the statute behind every deadline and benefit figure.
- Date each figure and update it when the state changes it.
A stale benefit figure risks becoming the kind of misleading statement Rule 7.1 prohibits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do answer engines cite the state workers’ comp agency over a law firm?
State agency pages publish the plain workers’ comp rule for their state, which makes them a natural source for an answer engine. A law firm page earns a place by adding the statute, its exceptions and a dated figure the agency summary leaves out.
How should a workers’ comp firm write a page when a benefit figure changes?
A workers’ comp firm should date every benefit figure on its pages and cite the statute behind it. When the state changes the figure, the page should change promptly, with the new effective date shown next to the number.
Should a multi-state workers’ comp firm build one page per state?
A multi-state workers’ comp firm should give each state its own page for each core question, because deadlines and benefit caps differ. California and Florida both use 30 days and about two-thirds of wages, yet measure each differently.
Can workers’ comp content target injured workers without breaking solicitation rules?
Workers’ comp content written for the general public is not solicitation under Comment 1 to ABA Model Rule 7.3, which names websites as an example. The solicitation rule restricts live person-to-person contact with a specific injured worker when a significant motive is the lawyer’s pecuniary gain.
Workers’ Comp Answer Engines Quote the Page That Names the State
A workers’ comp page built around one state’s statute gives answer engines a rule they can quote and readers a rule they can use. Practicing in more than one state? Lexicon’s legal content experts write practice area pages one state at a time. Call 877-486-8123 or contact us online to map out yours.
David Arato, JD is the founder of Lexicon Legal Content, an attorney-owned legal content marketing agency serving law firms since 2012. Lexicon writes content for personal injury, criminal defense, family law, bankruptcy and business law firms. David is a frequent contributor to Attorney at Law Magazine and Attorney at Work and a recurring guest on legal marketing podcasts.
