Author: Jones Jones

Jones Jones LLC congratulates Supervising Partner Simeon Stamm and team on successfully closing more than 20 cases of claimants with multiple claims for one aviation client throughout 2024. Of the more than 20 claimants, at least 12 had more than five separate cases each. For example, one claimant had 31 claims, dating back to the mid 1990s and another had 26 claims. Simeon and his team closed all claims for every claimant in one settlement each.  

It is common in the aviation field for employees to have multiple claims over the course of their careers. Aviation work can be labor intensive, leading to a number of injury claims. At the same time, workers tend to stay in aviation jobs longer due to attractive benefits programs and positive treatment from employers. Combined, these factors can lead to a potential buildup of claims over the years. This is particularly true for this Jones Jones aviation client, which has low employee turnover and high employee satisfaction rates.  

To achieve settlements for the claimants with multiple claims, Simeon and his team reviewed each individual’s multiple claims independently and then evaluated the claimant and their claims as a whole. Once the team had a strong understanding of the claimant, they assigned an appropriate settlement value to address the full set of claims for that individual. Entering negotiations with a value in mind greatly helped the team in efficiently wrapping up each claimant’s individual case with one full and final settlement. Each settlement was inclusive of a general release and resignation with full approval from the board.  

In closing all cases for a claimant in one settlement, Simeon and his team were able to negate the period of waiting for approval in between each case. This not only effectuated a faster resolution process for the employer and employee, but it gave the employee and insurance carrier the confidence of knowing that all cases filed are closed– leaving no opportunity for surprise claims in the future.  

In closing numerous cases of claimants with multiple claims, Simeon and his team exemplified superior negotiation skills and settlement tactics. Further, in producing successful settlements with general release and resignation agreements, the team showcased their knowledge and thorough understanding of the needs of the aviation sector. Congratulations Simeon and the team. If you are in need of assistance with a workers’ compensation case, please contact our appellate team at clientservices@jonesjonesllc.com.

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Jones Jones LLC congratulates Associate Diane C Mandleur for securing a unanimous 2024 New York State Workers’ Compensation Board Panel Decision. This decision resulted in more than $73,000 in awards for the carrier in reimbursement from the Aggregate Trust Fund (ATF) following a 2022 classification of permanent disability in New York.

This award comes following a decision that clarified a carrier’s entitlement to a statutory entitled credit, a credit provided by law for increases in employment, training, investments in property and more, under Section 15(3)(w) of the workers’ compensation law for cases with date of injury after 4/10/2017. Section 15(3)(w) addresses temporary disability benefits and labor market attachment. In this case, Jones Jones appeared at a hearing for the carrier to address an unrelated issue and Diane used the opportunity to address the credit over vigorous exception from the claimant’s attorney. The Law Judge noted the carrier’s application but denied the application for the credit.

Diane filed a request to reopen the case to address the statutory entitled credit issue. She argued carriers have an unwaivable statutory entitlement to the credit, and it can be raised at any time. In the case of Section 15(3)(w), carriers are entitled to a credit if the period of temporary partial disability is paid to a claimant after the exhaustion of 130 weeks from the date of injury, which would reduce the claimant’s entitlement under their classification award. Here, the Board agreed the credit is statutory and that the Section sets forth no provision for waiver of that right. The Board awarded the carrier a credit of 97.4 weeks calculated at present day value with interest for $73,815.70.

Diane took a persistent and vigorous approach in fighting for the client’s right to a credit in this case. The team leveraged their extensive knowledge of Section 15(3)(w) and successfully secured this decision. Tenacity and an up-to-date knowledge of recent Board decisions are key to securing wins. Congratulations Diane and the rest of the Jones Jones team. If you are in need of assistance with a workers’ compensation case, please contact our appellate team at clientservices@jonesjonesllc.com.

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Jones Jones LLC congratulates Associate Kevin Moy and his team for successfully arguing before the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board that a controverted assault claim should be disallowed.   

In this 2023 case, the claimant alleged they were assaulted by their supervisor and injured their left shoulder. The claimant denied prior injuries, but received treatment, including x-rays in 2021 diagnosing osteoarthritis. Medical examination from the claimant’s doctor and an independent medical examiner (IME) found prima facie medical evidence or sufficient medical evidence conceding causal relationship based on the claimant’s history of being assaulted. However, the claimant also denied prior injuries to the left shoulder to the IME despite 2021 treatment. Additional evidence in this case includes a video of the site, which was precluded from the record and a previous write-up against the claimant for not wearing a safety vest.  

During the trial, Moy and his team took extensive testimony from the claimant and the supervisor which contradicted one another. The claimant said the supervisor roughly grabbed the claimant’s arm whereas the supervisor testified they only lightly tapped the claimant from behind. As the testimonies devolved into a he-said-she-said situation, Moy and his team centered their argument on credibility. Moy and his team argued that their witness, the supervisor, was more credible based on inconsistencies in the claimant’s statements and there was no assault that could have resulted in injuries. The Law Judge agreed with Moy and his team and disallowed the claim. 

Moy and his team conducted thorough cross-examination of the claimant at trial, overcoming the preclusion of the video evidence and the challenge of the section 21(1) presumption that an accident took place in the course and scope of the claimant’s employment. Well done to the entire team. If you are in need of assistance with a workers’ compensation case, please contact our appellate team at concierge@jonesjonesllc.com.  

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