Your injury does not have to be caused by an accident to be covered by workers’ compensation. As an employee, you can receive compensation for repetitive stress injuries, including carpal tunnel syndrome and back pain that are caused by overuse or misuse over a long period of time. A worker who has sustained a documented repetitive motion injury is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits according to the benefit schedules in their state’s workers’ comp statutes.

You may also be compensated for some illnesses and diseases that are the gradual result of work conditions, including heart conditions, lung disease and other diseases caused by chemical or other workplace exposures, and stress-related digestive problems.

(Reviewed 9-08)