Congratulations to Jones Jones partner, Samantha Sharpe for the complete reversal of an occupational disease claim in front of the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board.
The claim was established for injuries to both hips, alleged to have been obtained through years of physically demanding work, including extensive walking, climbing, bending, lifting heavy equipment, operating machinery, and using tools such as jackhammers. In an initial hearing, the Workers’ Compensation Law Judge (WCLJ) established the claim for both hips and awarded the claimant a 55% schedule loss of use (SLU) to each hip, resulting in a total award of $336,774.
Jones Jones successfully argued for a cross examination of the medical foundation supporting the claim and claimant’s award. As a result of Jones Jones’ challenging the claimant’s medical evidence, the board ruled that the claimant’s medical expert failed to prove adequate knowledge of the claimant’s occupational duties, including critical details such as hours worked, equipment and tools used and time spent bending, lifting or otherwise straining his body throughout the workday. The board found that this lack of knowledge rendered the evidence insufficient to support an occupational disease claim, and as a result, reversed the original award of 55% SLU and total award of $336,774 entirely and closed the case.
Through careful litigation and development of the medical record, the team secured a complete reversal and an outstanding defense victory. Congratulations to partner Samantha Sharpe for the successful reversal of this case and for securing major financial savings on behalf of the client.
If you are in need of assistance with a workers’ compensation case, please contact our team at concierge@jonesjonesllc.com.
