TopVerdict.com cites $44.1 million award in 2021 Winter Storm Uri fatal vehicle wreck

A $44.1 million jury verdict won by the attorneys with The Law Offices of Frank L. Branson in a case stemming from the ice storm that blanketed Texas in 2021 has been cited as the 18^th-largest verdict in Texas for 2025 by TopVerdict.com.

Attorneys Tim Newsom, John T. Burkhead, and Debbie Dudley Branson of The Law Offices of Frank L. Branson and Jeffrey S. Levinger of Levinger PC represented the plaintiffs in Vardy et al. v. New Prime Inc., et al., which was tried last December in the 44^th State District Court in Dallas.

The case was the fifth-largest award in Texas for a transportation-related case during 2025, according to the Top Verdict service, which recognizes U.S. law firms and attorneys who have obtained one of the highest jury verdicts, settlements, or bench awards in the nation or an individual state.

Christopher Ray Vardy, 49, of Boyd, Texas, was killed in one of the 130 collisions that occurred on an icy stretch of the southbound TEXpress section of Interstate 35W on the morning of Feb. 11, 2021, at the height of the deadly ice storm that gripped most of the state.

Evidence presented during trial showed that Steven Ridder, who was driving an 18-wheeler operated by New Prime Inc., was not adequately trained for winter driving conditions and failed to exercise extreme caution in hazardous weather. The 18-wheeler rear-ended Mr. Vardy’s vehicle, which was stopped because of other crashes.

Cranes and heavy machinery were required to find and extricate Mr. Vardy and his truck from the crash debris. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner confirmed that his injuries were survivable and that he was conscious during a period of pain and suffering following the crash.

The jury agreed with attorneys representing Mr. Vardy’s family that Mr. Ridder was negligent, and New Prime, Inc. was grossly negligent. Documents filed in the lawsuit quoted first responders as saying they had never seen a vehicle damaged as extensively as Mr. Vardy’s.

The verdict included $24.1 million in compensatory damages and $20 million in punitive damages.

The Law Offices of Frank L. Branson also recorded the 38^th-ranked verdict of 2025, winning $9.45 million in McClure, et al. v. Hotel Crescent Court, which was tried in the 162^nd State District Court in Dallas.

Plaintiff James Shelton McClure, 74, required ankle replacement surgery after he stepped into an unmarked, unbarricaded fountain basin in the Hotel Crescent Court courtyard. The basin had been drained of water due to freezing conditions during Winter Storm Uri.

About The Law Offices of Frank L. Branson

The Law Offices of Frank L. Branson represents clients in cases involving complex product liability, catastrophic injury, truck accidents, commercial air crashes, electrical and gas explosions, hospital and medical negligence, and truck and auto catastrophic injury.

To learn more about the firm, visit http://www.flbranson.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260420983493/en/

The case was the fifth-largest award in Texas for a transportation-related case during 2025, according to the Top Verdict service.