MARY CHRISTINA SHURINA, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF GREGORY JOSEPH SHURINA, DECEDENT EMPLOYEE v. FEDEX GROUND, ET AL. - Articles

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MARY CHRISTINA SHURINA, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF GREGORY JOSEPH SHURINA, DECEDENT EMPLOYEE v. FEDEX GROUND, ET AL.

Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Dec 31, 2025

Court: TN Workers Comp Appeals Board

Attorneys 1: Mary Christina Shurina, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Gregory Joseph Shurina, decedent-employee, Lenoir City, Tennessee, petitioner-appellant, pro se

Attorneys 2: Jonathan West, Nashville, Tennessee, for the employer-appellee, FedEx Ground

Judge(s): CONNOR

In this interlocutory appeal, the personal representative of the estate of the decedent employee filed a pro se petition seeking to recover any benefits to which the estate may be entitled following what the personal representative asserts was the decedent’s work-related death. The parties agreed the decedent had no dependents within the meaning of the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Law. Following the filing of a hearing request and a motion for protective order by the personal representative of the estate, the trial court issued an order in which it determined that neither the personal representative of the estate nor the estate itself can proceed with litigation in a pro se capacity. It therefore directed the estate to hire a licensed attorney, and the personal representative has appealed the court’s order. Having carefully reviewed relevant statutes, regulations, and binding case precedent, we affirm the trial court’s order and remand the case.

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