“They’re lying about what happened.”

Documents beat memory

Anything created at the time is worth more than anyone’s account two years later.

Texts and emails. Yours, and any you received. Forward work email to a personal account while you still have access.

The first medical record. What you told the provider that day, before anyone had a position.

The incident report, first-aid log, and any employer safety records.

Schedules, timecards, badge records, and dispatch or GPS data — which frequently contradict a claim that you were not there or not working.

Photographs, with metadata.

And your own dated notes, written contemporaneously.

Where the burden actually sits

“You’re an independent contractor.” The law presumes any person rendering service for another is an employee — the burden of proving otherwise is on the business.

“You were intoxicated.” § 3600(a)(4) is an affirmative defense the employer must prove, and it requires that intoxication caused the injury — not that a test was positive. More.

“You never reported it.” The law makes knowledge by any supervisor or person in authority, from any source, equivalent to notice — and the law provides that late notice does not bar a claim unless the employer was actually prejudiced.

“We denied it in time.” If liability was not rejected within 90 days of your claim form, the law presumes the injury compensable — rebuttable only by evidence discovered after the 90 days.

And the records they must keep

Cal/OSHA citation history — public and free.

Exposure and monitoring records — retained 30 years.

The Violent Incident Log — required of nearly every California employer since July 1, 2024, and available to employees and their representatives.

Coverage verification through the WCIRB, which does not depend on what anyone tells you.

How to get all of it.

What you should not do

Do not respond by exaggerating. Credibility is what decides every disputed medical question in the case, and it is the one thing you control completely.

Do not deny something that is in a record somewhere. A prior injury does not defeat a claim — denying one does. More.

And do not lose your temper in writing. Every message you send becomes an exhibit.