Jones Jones LLC is pleased to share that Diane Mandleur, Ian Leaderman and their team recently secured the successful dismissal of a potentially costly extreme hardship claim against an entertainment industry client.
In this case, the claimant was previously classified with a 90% loss of wage-earning capacity, with PPD benefits set to expire in August 2025. The carrier made an aggregate trust fund (ATF) payment in 2017. Jones Jones facilitated a Section 32 Settlement of the medical portion of the claim, made final in 2019. The claimant filed an Extreme Hardship Redetermination application in July 2025.
At a hearing in August, the Jones Jones’ team presented an argument stating that the language in the Section 32 Waiver Agreement, signed by the claimant, resulted in a full and final settlement of the case, including any and all future claims that may arise from the injury. This argument was further supported by a previous settlement fee received by the claimant’s attorney after the original case, which could only be paid from indemnity. The Jones Jones’ team negotiated convincingly to insist the claim was full and final, and the claimant should not receive an extension on the benefits.
Most recently, at the Thursday, Dec. 11 hearing, the judge ruled that the claimant did not have the right to extreme hardship reclassification based on the previous settlement agreement and a lack of jurisdiction to hear the claimant’s application for extreme hardship. Jones Jones is prepared to respond to an anticipated appeal from the Judge’s ruling.
By encouraging a thorough review of the Section 32 Waiver Agreement, Jones Jones was able to secure a dismissal of the claimant’s application for extreme hardship, resulting in an estimated savings of more than $400,000 in indemnity for Jones Jones’ entertainment client.
Congratulations to Diane, Ian and their team for their successful dismissal of claimant’s application! If you are in need of assistance with a workers’ compensation case, please contact our team at concierge@jonesjonesllc.com.
