Paul Norvell v. Kraft Foods Group, Inc.

The Freibott Law Firm was recently successful in its prosecution of a case on behalf of one its clients in the case of Norvell v. Kraft Foods Group, Inc.  Our client, who worked on the industrial machines at Kraft, injured his right shoulder on April 17, 2015.  Our client worked and maintained the heavy machinery at the Kraft industrial plant in Dover, DE.  On April 17, 2015, our client was working on the ground floor of the plant when a large batch of liquid fell on him causing him to jerk back and injure his shoulder.  Our client testified at the hearing that he actually felt a pop in his shoulder.  Our client proceeded to an orthopedic surgeon who ordered an MRI that showed, among other things, a severely injured shoulder (rotator cuff tear/SLAP tear).  Our client, in December of 2014, had treated for nagging pain in the same shoulder.  The orthopedic surgeon provided a steroid shot into his shoulder which relieved all the pain in his right shoulder.  At the hearing, the attorney for the employer argued that our client was not injured in the April 17, 2015 accident; rather, he had an ongoing and longstanding shoulder injury.  The Industrial Accident Board decided that our client, his lay witnesses, and his expert witness, were more credible than that of the employer’s witnesses.  In the end, the Industrial Accident Board found that our client sustained a compensable injury; awarded a closed period of total disability; ordered the employer to pay for all of our client’s outstanding medical expenses that were reasonable, necessary, and related to the work accident.  The Industrial Accident Board further ordered an attorney’s fee to be paid by the employer and for the reimbursement of our client’s expert witness testimony.  (Paul Norvell v. Kraft Foods Group, Inc.,Hearing No.: 1428648)