Author: Jones Jones

We’re pleased to congratulate Managing Partner Sarah Thomas on being named a 2026 Business Insurance Women to Watch Award winner!

This well-deserved recognition celebrates Sarah’s leadership, accomplishments and contributions to the insurance industry. Her dedication, expertise and commitment to excellence continue to make a meaningful impact on our team, our clients and the industry.

Please join us in congratulating Sarah and all of the outstanding leaders recognized among the 2026 Women to Watch!

Congratulations to Jones Jones Associate Daniel Levit and his team for successfully securing the disallowance of a controverted claim on behalf of a transportation client before the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board (The Board). This win saved the client more than $50,000.

In this case, the claimant was involved in a motor vehicle accident while driving their personal vehicle during work hours to sign out for the day. The claimant sustained a fracture to the right femur and underwent open reduction internal fixation surgery. Jones Jones disputed the claim, stating that the claimant did not have authorization to drive their personal vehicle during work hours. During trial, the claimant conceded they were aware they were not supposed to be driving their personal vehicle without permission from a supervisor.

In their challenge of the claim, Daniel and his team produced a witness who noted employees in the claimant’s position must seek explicit authorization from a supervisor to use a personal vehicle. Authorization is usually granted in an emergency or if an employee is working at multiple sites in a day, neither of which applied on the day of the incident.

Through testimony from the claimant and corroboration by the witness, Daniel and the Jones Jones team were able to successfully argue the claimant put themself at risk, outside of the scope of employment. In the new decision, the judge ruled that the carrier was not responsible for medical expenses, lost time benefits or future schedule loss of use awards.

Further, because this claim developed from a covered motor vehicle accident, the carrier would only have a right to a credit against its obligation to provide benefits more than the first $50,000 paid in lieu of No-Fault. With disallowance, the carrier is not responsible for any amount.

Congratulations to Daniel and the Jones Jones team for their success on this case!

If you are in need of assistance with a workers’ compensation case, please contact our team at concierge@jonesjonesllc.com.

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What does it take to build a successful career as a woman in the insurance industry?

In the latest episode of Connecting Women in Insurance, host Julie Ward sits down with Sarah Thomas, Managing Partner at Jones Jones LLC, to discuss her career journey, leadership, professional growth, and the experiences that shaped her path in the industry.

Sarah shares thoughtful insights and practical advice for women navigating their careers — from building confidence and pursuing leadership opportunities to embracing growth and creating a career path on their own terms.

We’re proud to see Sarah’s leadership and experience highlighted in this conversation and invite you to listen as she shares lessons from her journey and perspectives on what it takes to build a meaningful, lasting career in insurance.

Please join us in congratulating Sarah on being featured on Connecting Women in Insurance!

Jones Jones LLC is pleased to share that Diane Mandleur and her team recently secured the successful dismissal of a potential schedule loss of use (SLU) claim on behalf of a construction client.

The original claim was established on a claimant’s right forearm laceration after the claimant was struck by a wire protruding from a fence. After establishment of the claim on the right forearm, the plaintiff’s attorney raised multiple additional sites that, if established, could have led to large SLU awards or permanency.

At the initial hearing in November, Jones Jones’ attorneys preserved the carrier’s right to depose the treating providers on the additional sites, as well as their right to cross examine the claimant on mechanism of injury testimony. The team approached the case under the theory of “body creep,” proposing that the claimant sought to expand their initial injury to include additional, unrelated body part injuries, conditions or symptoms. Jones Jones obtained witness statements, photos of the job site and deposed four treating providers in support of this perspective.

At a May 11 hearing, the claimant and employer witness testified at great length defending the alleged body creep. The judge found the claimant’s testimony was not credible, citing the pictures and deposition transcripts provided by Jones Jones.

By efficiently working to review the job site and obtain witnesses following the claimant alleging a host of additional body sites, the Jones Jones team was successful in their defense against the claim. The dismissal of the additional claims resulted in an estimated savings of more than $150,000 in medical treatment and SLU (or permanency) awards for the construction client.

Congratulations to Diane and her team for their successful dismissal of this case. If you are in need of assistance with a workers’ compensation case, please contact our team at concierge@jonesjonesllc.com. We take claims of body creep seriously.

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Congratulations to Jones Jones associate Samantha Sokoloff and her team for the successful appeal of a mental health claim for acute stress disorder on behalf of a transportation client before the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board.

This case comes during a pivotal time for mental health claims. Following the signing of Legislation S.6635/A.5745 into law in January 2025, which expanded workers’ compensation coverage to allow all employees to file claims for specific mental health injuries caused by extraordinary work-related stress, there has been an emphasis on and increase in mental health claims. Many of these new mental health claims have not been settled or litigated yet. This case when seen with others of a similar outcome, will help set the precedent of what is considered extraordinary work-related stress, and perhaps more importantly, what is not.

In this case, a train operator alleged they heard a loud noise while on the job and made an emergency stop. Another operator reported seeing a person crawl out from under the claimant’s train, however, upon investigation, no evidence was found that the claimant’s train struck or injured anyone. The claimant found a metal rod beneath the train but saw no person, body parts or blood.

The claim was initially established for acute stress disorder and Jones Jones appealed the decision. Samantha and her team argued that the incident did not meet the legal threshold for extraordinary work-related stress and therefore was not compensable. The board ruled in favor of Jones Jones’ argument, disallowing the claim.

Congratulations to Samantha and the entire Jones Jones team for the successful appeal of this claim, setting an important pattern into motion. If you are in need of assistance with a workers’ compensation case, please contact our team at concierge@jonesjonesllc.com.

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