A solar farm construction worker in Lancaster who contracts Valley Fever after working in disturbed desert soil can pursue a workers’ compensation claim in California. Valley Fever can qualify as an occupational disease when job duties expose a worker to dust carrying the fungal spores that cause the infection. Benefits may include medical treatment, wage replacement, and compensation for lasting lung or other damage. Because insurers often argue the infection came from everyday life in the desert, building a strong record of your work exposure is essential.
What Is Valley Fever?
Valley Fever, also called coccidioidomycosis, is an infection caused by a fungus called Coccidioides. The fungus lives in the soil in dry regions of the Southwest, including the Antelope Valley. When soil is disturbed, microscopic spores become airborne. Breathing in those spores can cause infection in the lungs.
Some people have mild symptoms or none at all. Others become seriously ill. In a smaller number of cases, the infection spreads beyond the lungs to the skin, bones, joints, or brain, which can lead to long-term disability or death.
Why Solar Farm Construction Workers Face High Exposure
Utility-scale solar projects across the Antelope Valley require massive amounts of earthwork on undeveloped desert land. Construction crews perform tasks that kick up large amounts of dust, including:
- Clearing and grading land
- Trenching for underground electrical cable
- Driving piles to support solar panel racking
- Operating heavy equipment and driving on unpaved access roads
- Digging foundations for inverters and substations
- Working outdoors on windy days when dust travels across the site
Workers on these sites may breathe dusty air for hours every day. That level of exposure is far greater than what most residents experience during normal daily life, which is a key point in proving a work-related claim.
Symptoms to Watch For
Valley Fever symptoms usually appear one to three weeks after exposure and are often mistaken for the flu or a cold. They can include:
- Extreme fatigue
- Cough, sometimes lasting for weeks
- Fever and night sweats
- Chest pain and shortness of breath
- Headaches
- Muscle and joint aches
- A red, bumpy rash on the legs or other areas
If you work on a dusty construction site and develop these symptoms, tell your doctor about your job and ask whether you should be tested for Valley Fever. It is frequently missed when doctors do not know about the exposure.
Is Valley Fever Covered by Workers’ Comp?
Yes, when work exposure contributed to the infection. California workers’ compensation covers occupational diseases that arise out of employment. You do not have to prove you were infected on a particular day. You must show that it is reasonably probable your work exposure contributed to your illness. Learn more about these claims on our occupational diseases page.
How to Prove Valley Fever Is Work-Related
Get a confirmed diagnosis. Blood tests, cultures, or imaging can confirm Valley Fever. Ask your doctor to document the diagnosis clearly and record that you work in dust-heavy construction on disturbed desert soil.
Document your job duties and dust exposure. Write down the tasks you performed, the equipment you operated, how dusty the site was, and how long you worked there. Note whether dust control measures like water trucks were used, and whether you were given respiratory protection.
Identify coworkers who became sick. If other workers on the same project developed Valley Fever, that pattern can be strong evidence that the job site was the source of infection.
Show your exposure history. If you moved to the area for the project, or if your work exposure was far greater than your exposure at home, that can help counter arguments that you were infected elsewhere.
Keep project records. Daily reports, schedules, photos, and site location information can help establish when and where you were exposed.
Understanding Deadlines
For occupational diseases, the date of injury is generally when you first suffered disability and knew, or reasonably should have known, that your illness was caused by your work. You should report the illness to your employer within 30 days of that point, and you generally have one year to file with the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. Request a DWC-1 claim form, which your employer must provide within one working day of learning about the illness.
What Benefits Are Available?
Depending on the severity of your illness, you may be entitled to:
- Medical care: Doctor visits, antifungal medications, imaging, specialist care, and long-term monitoring
- Temporary disability: Generally two-thirds of your average weekly earnings while you are too sick to work
- Permanent disability: Compensation for lasting lung damage or complications
- Supplemental job displacement benefit: A retraining voucher if you cannot return to dusty outdoor work
- Death benefits: Support for dependents if the illness proves fatal
Some patients need antifungal treatment for months or even years, so ongoing medical coverage can be especially important.
What If You Worked for a Subcontractor or Traveled for the Project?
Large solar projects often involve many subcontractors and traveling crews. Your claim generally goes through the insurer of the company that employed you. If you traveled to Lancaster from another part of California or another state for the job, that can strengthen your argument that the project site, not your home area, was the source of exposure. Learn more about job site injuries on our construction accident page.
Common Reasons Valley Fever Claims Get Denied
Insurers frequently argue that:
- The worker could have been infected anywhere in the Antelope Valley
- Symptoms were caused by a common respiratory illness
- The diagnosis came too long after the work exposure
- The worker did not report the illness quickly enough
Detailed exposure records, medical documentation, and evidence of illness among coworkers can help overcome these defenses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I file a claim after my project ended?
Yes. Symptoms can appear after you leave a project. You can still file as long as you meet the deadlines tied to when you knew the illness was work-related.
What if I live in the Antelope Valley?
You can still file. The key is showing that your work exposure was significant enough to contribute to the infection.
Is Valley Fever contagious?
No. It does not spread from person to person, which is why a cluster of cases on the same site often points to shared work exposure.
Get Help With Your Valley Fever Claim in Lancaster
Valley Fever can take months to recover from and leave lasting damage. If you became ill after working on a solar farm in Lancaster, PLBH can help you document your exposure, connect your illness to your work, and pursue the benefits you deserve. Call (800) 435-7542 today for a free consultation.