Representative Personal Injury & Wrongful Death Cases
The circumstances and results of these cases are representative of Mr. Ayres and his firm in the handling of such matters for more than 30 years. The results of a particular case depends upon the individual factual background of the case and a number of related considerations. Therefore, the results presented here may or may not be comparable to any particular case that is accepted in the future.
In 1995, Mr. Ayres represented a 14-year-old boy and his family who alleged that a defective occupant restraint system in a Ford truck resulted in permanent quadriplegia to the boy and his inability to breathe without the assistance of a ventilator. The original trial court verdict was for $40,000,000.00, $30,000,000.00 of which represented actual damages sustained by the young man and his family and $10,000,000.00 awarded as punitive damages against Ford. Mr. Ayres has personally handled multiple appeals and appellate proceedings involving this case up to the present time. See Miles v. Ford Motor Company, 922 S.W. 2d 572 (Tex.App.-Texarkana, 1996).
Mr. Ayres was asked to represent the Town of Addison, Texas and the surviving family of an Addison police officer, Ron Cox. Officer Cox was shot by a Dallas police officer by mistake during a drug raid. This case resulted in a multi-million dollar award of damages against the City of Dallas and compensation for the surviving family members. See City of Dallas v. Cox, 793 S.W.2d 701 (Tex.App.- Dallas, 1990).
Mr. Ayres represented the surviving wife and children of a prominent young business executive in connection with the tragic crash of Delta Flight 191 in August of 1985. In that case, a federal judge awarded total damages in excess of $7,300,000.00 to the family. Mr. Ayres also personally handled the defendant's appeal of this case to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which ultimately resulted in an even greater recovery for the family at the conclusion of the case after remand to the trial court. See Douglass v. Delta Airlines, 897 F.2d 1336 (5th Cir. 1990).
Mr. Ayres represented a family in a complex medical malpractice case in which the patient's internist referred him to a cardiologist for a stress test despite the fact that the patient was documented to have severe and long-standing coronary artery disease. The patient collapsed and died on the treadmill during the stress test. Mr. Ayres settled the case with the cardiologist for a confidential amount of money and then tried the case against the internist, which resulted in a multi- million dollar recovery for the surviving family. Mr. Ayres also handled the case on appeal. See Harvey v. Stanley, 803 S.W.2d 721 (Tex.App.-Ft. Worth, 1990).
Recently, Mr. Ayres and his firm represented the surviving husband and children of a young woman who was shot to death by a McKinney police officer, after the homeowner was asked by her alarm company if she could meet the police at her home. The case against the City of McKinney and the police officer was settled prior to trial for $1,450,000.00 and proceeded to trial against the alarm company. During the trial, plaintiffs' case against the alarm company was settled for a confidential amount. Mr. Ayres and his firm handled all aspects of the suit, including trial and a pre-trial appeal by the officer. See Kalimah v. City of McKinney, Texas, 213 F.Supp.2d 698 (E.D. Tex. 2002).