The appeals board may, upon the filing of an application by or on behalf of an injured employee, the employee’s dependents, or any other party in interest, direct the clerk of the superior court of any county to issue writs of attachment authorizing the sheriff to attach the property of the defendant as security for the payment of any compensation which may be awarded in any of the following cases:
(a) In any case mentioned in Section 415.50 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(b) Where the employer has failed to secure the payment of compensation as required by Article 1 (commencing with Section 3700) of Chapter 4 of Part 1.
The attachment shall be in an amount fixed by the appeals board, not exceeding the greatest probable award against the defendant in the matter.