Similar personal injury attorneys in Dallas
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.
About John Burkhead
John Burkhead joined The Law Offices of Frank L. Branson in 2010 and brings a single-minded focus to championing the causes of firm clients. He has become a key asset to the firm's team approach to litigation, which quickly assembles expert resources and uses courtroom technology to deliver powerful messages to juries, judges, and opposing counsel. "Being the client's champion starts with hard work," he says. "From the very start of litigation, the attorneys at this firm make a point of setting the pace and making sure that our side has an absolute command of the facts and issues at play." Burkhead has been named to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers list (2024-2026), Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (2022-2025), and Texas Super Lawyers (2025) after nine years as a Texas Rising Star, and D Magazine recognized him among the Best Lawyers Under 40 in 2018.
Proven verdicts and settlements
A Dallas County jury awarded the family of Christopher Ray Vardy $44.1 million after finding New Prime Inc. and its driver, Steven Ridder, responsible for the February 2021 ice-storm pileup that killed him on the Interstate 35W toll lanes near Fort Worth. The verdict included $24.1 million in compensatory damages, apportioned 75 percent to Ridder and 25 percent to toll-road operator NTE Express, plus $20 million in punitive damages against New Prime for recklessly employing an unfit driver. The Law Offices of Frank L. Branson, P.C. represented Vardy's widow, Tamara Vardy, and the firm says John Burkhead, Tim Newsom and Debbie Dudley Branson tried the case. Days after the verdict New Prime moved for a take-nothing judgment, arguing settlement credits and Texas's exemplary-damages cap should erase the award, a motion with no reported ruling as of September 2026.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.
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Proven verdicts and settlements from other Dallas firms
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.