A specific injury is an injury that is brought about by a specific event or incident that is work-related. It is an injury that happens suddenly, from one event or one incident. This can be getting burned from coming in contact with a hot object or having some type of chemical splashed on the skin, hurting a leg in a fall from a scaffold, hearing a crack in your back as you lift a heavy item,  or being hit in the head by a heavy object. 

The Labor Code divides work-related injuries into two kinds: 1) specific, that occur at a certain period, and 2) cumulative trauma that occurs over an extended period of time due to repetitive work activities. The California Supreme Court divides compensability into a few parts:

• Specific: when disability or need for medical treatment occurs due to an incident the effects of which are immediately realized or realized at a later date.
• Continuous Cumulative Traumatic: when a number of minor strains occur over a period of time resulting in an eventual disability.
• Cumulative: when continuous exposure to harmful substances results in disability.