Too often, a worker is under the misconception that in order to be entitled to workers' compensation benefits, he or she always must be able to identify one specific traumatic work event that caused his or her injury. Not so. Carpal tunnel syndrome and lateral epicondylitis ("tennis elbow") are two common diagnoses often times related to not one specific traumatic event but rather repetitive use of a certain body part. You are entitled to workers' compensation benefits for injuries like these if they are the result of exposure to repetitive trauma at work.
If you believe your pain is the result of exposure to repetitive workplace trauma, report your symptoms to your supervisor right away. If you fill out a written accident report, indicate not only the most recent work activity you were performing when you began noticing pain but also indicate any repetitive work activities you believe may have brought on your pain. Also provide this information and any details regarding your day-to-day work activities to any physician from whom you seek treatment. That way, your physicians will have accurate information to support any claim you may make for your repetitive trauma injury.
Keep in mind, any time limits for providing notice of your injury to your employer and for filing a workers' compensation claim do not begin to run until the last date on which you were exposed to the repetitive trauma that caused your injuries. Therefore, so long as you are still performing the same type of repetitive work that caused your injury, your claim for workers' compensation benefits may still be timely, even if you have been performing that same type of work for many, many years. Nonetheless, you should always report workplace injuries to your supervisor immediately so that you do not run the risk of being forever barred from filing your workers' compensation claim. In addition, you should seek a free consultation from our law firm (412-288-6000) right away to make sure you are fully aware of any rights you may have to workers' compensation and whether a workers' compensation claim needs to be filed.
Joshua Bloom 
Jonathan Colton 