Repetitive injuries develop gradually, so employers and insurers may argue your condition is unrelated to work or that it’s pre-existing. In practice, this often shows up when:
- Your symptoms worsen after overtime or increased production demands.
- You report problems, but the workplace response is informal (“rest more,” “try to push through”) instead of documented.
- You’re reassigned temporarily, then placed back into similar tasks once things “calm down.”
- You can’t easily track the exact date symptoms began because pain ramps up over weeks.
California law generally turns on evidence of work-related causation and whether the employer responded reasonably once issues were reported. The earlier you build a credible record, the harder it is for the defense to reshape your timeline.


