If an employee's workers' compensation claim is denied, she may appeal the decision through the workers' compensation appeals board or equivalent in your state, or initiate a lawsuit in court. When the status of a claim has made it to this point, there will be an attorney involved who has been retained by the workers' compensation insurance company.

By the time someone has had a workers' compensation claim denied or the court date for a lawsuit has arrived, a year or more is likely to have passed. You will not be able to remember all of the events surrounding the incident and neither will respective witnesses. This is why it is important to have complete files with everything documented. Do not rely on memory alone.