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John Dupree works hard to obtain maximum compensation for his clients and he is incredibly proud of his track record of substantial verdicts and settlements achieved on his clients' behalf.
While no two cases are the same, he will always try to maximize what clients recover from the other side. Because settlements sometimes contain confidentiality clauses, we cannot share all results here, but here is a small portion of the outcomes that Mr Dupree has been able to collect for his clients:
I represented a local claimant that was just a wonderful person but she suffered from hepatitis C. After winning her appeal with Cigna and finally receiving the benefits she deserved, she got better and was able to go back to work as a flight attendant.
This Loudon County claimant had sustained an injury to his back and one of his legs was about half the size of the other due to continuing neuropathy arising out of a back injury. We convinced Hartford to overturn its initial denial with what I believe to be the best evidence for this kind of case – pictures of the leg.
I represented a radiation oncologist for disability benefits arising out of a heart attack. What was interesting about this case was that, well, the claimant was a radiation oncologist. I got the opportunity to learn how he performed his job – looking for cancer via films.
His job carried tremendous responsibility and required inerrant concentration. However, his neurological problems interfered with his ability to focus. He got his benefits
I represented a kind lady who had part of her brain removed. For the most part, she appeared normal but she had continuing issues as a result of the surgery. The interesting part about this case for me was learning that a person can lose part of his or her brain,
but the untouched parts of the brain will take over the functions of the removed portion of the brain.
It is not very often that I get to compliment a plan administrator. However, I feel compelled to state that the Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB) did a commendable thing with a claimant.
The claimant had applied for benefits and failed to convince Unum (Unum handled the claims for self-insured KUB) that she was totally disabled. After her appeal was denied, she decided not to pursue the matter any further. However, about a year later she won Social Security benefits. A year after that, she changed her mind about KUB and she came to me for help with her disability benefits. I told her that I did not have much hope that KUB would be willing to re-evaluate her case but I would ask them. One thing that I have learned over time is that you won’t get what you want unless you ask. So we asked. To my surprise, KUB agreed to reopen the claim and consider any new evidence that we could produce. We eventually convinced KUB to reverse its decision. The claimant is still getting her benefits today. As it turned out, I have come to the conclusion that KUB works hard to be fair to its former employees claiming disability and it should be commended for adhering to this philosophy.
From time to time I will make the decision to bring an Erisa case in small claims court (because the law provides that any court of competent jurisdiction may hear the case).
One such case involved a claimant that had cancer and had to stop work at Pasminco in Grainger County, Tennessee. Sitting in court on the day of the scheduled trial, I wondered whether the lawyer for Pasminco would assert that this was a case pre-empted by Erisa and that it should be removed to federal court. However, to my surprise, opposing counsel agreed to just have a trial in General Sessions Court. It was a full courtroom that morning and we got to see a trial over a cow that damaged an automobile. When it was our turn, the judge declared that he had never tried one of those kinds of cases (and probably never would again) but basically, “put on your first witness.” So I did. The claimant told his story, his wife got up and told her story, then the employer put a witness on the stand and I cross-examined him for about 30 or 40 minutes. All of this took about an hour and a half with the introduction of documentation and argument. When we were done, the judge announced his verdict in our favor and awarded a lump sum severance. The thing that I remember the most, though, was that the crowd in the courtroom paid attention to the trial and by the time the judge announced his decision, they were into it. When the judge finished his decision, there was a collective “heck yes!” from the crowd and I got a hug from my client. As you might imagine, that does not happen very often for attorneys!
To its credit, Pasminco promptly paid the judgment and we were done.
Feel free to reach out with any inquiries and we will get back to you as soon as possible, we are here to help!
I am results-focused and a trusted and honest adviser and consultant for legal situations for many impactful clients.