The Freibott Law Firm was recently successful in prosecuting a claim on behalf of one of our clients seeking the compensability of his work injury. Our client worked as a fork lift operator for the employer but was reassigned to the employer’s “utility crew.” The utility crew had job duties associated with stacking multiple pallets of blocks of frozen chicken each day, shoveling trash and performing other general sanitation services. The job consisted, specifically, of stacking blocks of frozen chicken weighing 40-50 pounds on a pallet. 44 blocks of frozen chicken would be placed on each pallet and during an eight-hour shift, these workers would load approximately 150 pallets. There was substantial bending, twisting, and lifting which consisted of 75-80% of the job. Our client injured his right hip due to his work activities which required a hip replacement. The Industrial Accident Board found our medical expert, Dr. David Eakin, an orthopaedic surgeon, to be more credible than that of the defense expert, Dr. Gelman. Dr. Gelman blamed our client’s hip issue on his alcohol and tobacco use over the years. The Industrial Accident Board found Dr. Gelman’s opinion to be unreliable and found that our client’s work activities provided the setting and trigger to cause the hip injury. The Industrial Accident Board found that our client was credible; that his medical expert was credible; and awarded total disability benefits; and reimbursement of all medical expenses. The Industrial Accident Board also awarded our firm an attorney’s fee and reimbursement of our expert witness fee. (Waples v. Simmons Foods, Hearing No.: 1494623 Date of Decision: January 15, 2021)
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