Wade E. Byrd
attorney
232 Person Street
Fayetteville, NC 28301
Wade E. Byrd
Wade E. Byrd has over forty years of legal experience helping clients in all types of cases with personal care and attention. Before opening the doors of his own law firm, he was employed as the Assistant District Attorney in Cumberland County from 1973-1977, serving as the Senior Trial Assistant from 1975-1977. In 1977, Mr. Byrd joined the law firm of Berry, Caudle, & Byrd. That firm became known as Berry & Byrd in 1986, and then The Law Offices of Wade Byrd in 1996. Mr. Byrd has extensive litigation and trial experience, and has focused his practice on serious medical malpractice, personal injury, and other complex tort litigation. Mr. Byrd is admitted to practice in all North Carolina State Courts, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.
Mr. Byrd received his law degree from Wake Forest University in 1973 and his undergraduate degree from Methodist College in 1970. He is a member in good standing of the American Bar Association, the American Board of Trial Advocates, the American College of Trial Lawyers, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the Civil Justice Foundation, the Cumberland County Bar Association, the International Society of Barristers, the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, the North Carolina State Bar Association, served on the North Carolina Health Planning Commission in 1998, the Roscoe Pound Foundation, Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, and the Wake Forest Alumni Council. He is also a member of Fayetteville Academy, the Fayetteville Kiwanis Club, the Key Club, Methodist College Board of Trustees, and the United Way.
Mr. Byrd was the 2001 recipient of the Walter Clark Award from the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers and is listed in “The Best Lawyers in America” and the “Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.” He is the past president of the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers. He has published “In the Wake of Haslip: Punitive Damage Jury Instructions and Post-Verdict Reviews of Awards in North Carolina, Trial Briefs Vol. 24, No. 3, and is a frequent lecturer on a variety of legal topics such as:
- Dealing with Juries – To Use or Not to Use an Expert and Alternatives to Hiring an Expert, 1989
- Professional Negligence – Discovery and Proof of the Applicable Standard of Care, 1990
- Damages – Economics of Catastrophic Injuries, 1991
- Practical Trial Skills – Making the Most of Exhibits in Civil and Criminal Cases, 1992
- Two Hot Topics: Punitive Damages in North Carolina and Winning at Mediation, Program Chair, 1993
- Litigating and Recovering Punitive Damages – Shouldering the New Burdens of Proof to Obtain Punitives, 1995
- Medical Malpractice, Pre-Screening and Case Selections: Which Frogs are Really Princes? 1996
- The People’s Choice Seminar: Winning Wrongful Death Closing Arguments, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1996
- Picking the Jury, Seminar Speaker – Jury Selection, 1997
- Seminar Speaker: Summation by the Masters, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1997
- Personal Injury Cases – Jury Selection, 1998
- Effectively Handling Wrongful Death Cases – Opening Statements & Closing Arguments, 1999
- Panel Discussion – Attorney and Insurer Perspectives regarding the Standard of Medical Care, WFU Law Symposium, April 2002 Mr. Byrd has an impressive history of success over the years and has obtained the following verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients:
- Confidential settlement in 2001: $15.0 million involving a 38 year-old African American male who was left a ventilator dependant quadriplegic as a result of his neck being broken during an intubation.
- Confidential settlement in 1996: $12.5 million involving a suicide.
- Gaston County: $10.75 million settlement with physicians and hospital in case involving an infant that had suffered permanent brain injuries at birth.
- Mecklenburg County: $8.1 million wrongful death verdict in case involving an outpatient suicide. This represents the highest verdict in the United States in a suicide case.
- Guilford County: $7.1 million verdict represented the first medical malpractice verdict in Guilford County, the highest medical malpractice verdict in North Carolina, at that time, and the second highest punitive damages verdict in the state
- Confidential settlement in 2001: $4.5 million involving a child who suffered significant brain injury as a result of medical treatment received for a heart condition.
- Cumberland County: $3.5 million verdict involving an infant that had suffered permanent brain injuries.
- Confidential settlement in 2001: $3.25 million for the wrongful death of a 46 year-old husband and father of 4 children who died due to a failure to see and appreciate a brain aneurysm by a radiologist performing an MRA (Magnetic Resonance Angiogram).
- Confidential settlement in 2002: $2.3 million for the wrongful death of a 38 year-old, wife and mother of 2 children who died following routine thyroidectomy.
- Cumberland County: $1.5 million settlement in a car accident involving a 31 year-old wife and mother of 2 children which resulted in a closed-head injury and permanent brain damage.
- Macon County: $800,000 wrongful death verdict in case involving throat cancer
- Wade E. Byrd has settled dozens of other cases in excess of $1 million
Areas of Practice
- Personal Injury
- Medical Malpractice
- Motor Vehicle Accidents — Plaintiff
- Nursing Home Abuse
- Wrongful Death – Plaintiff
- Social Security — Disability
Bar Admissions
- North Carolina, 1973
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of North Carolina, 1978
- U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit, 1982
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1999
Published Works
In the Wake of Haslip: Punitive Damage Jury Instructions and Post-Verdict Reviews of Awards in North Carolina, Vol. 24 Trial Briefs No. 3
Education
Wake Forest University School of Law, Winston Salem, North Carolina
- J.D. – 1973
- Honors: Justice Moot Court, 1972-73
- Honors: Instructor, 1st Year Bibliography-Appellate Brief Writing & Argument, 1972
Methodist College, Fayetteville, North Carolina
- B.A. – 1970
- Major: Political Science
Classes/Seminars
- Dealing With Juries: To Use or Not To Use an Expert and Alternatives to Hiring an Expert, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1989 to 1989
- Program Chair, Insurance Law, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1990 to 1990
- Advanced Personal Injury Law: Demonstrative Evidence, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1990 to 1990
- Practical Trial Skills: Making the Most of Exhibits in Civil and Criminal Cases, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1990 to 1990
- Professional Negligence: Discovery and Proof of the Applicable Standard of Care, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1990 to 1990
- Practical Trial Skills, Making the Most of Exhibits in Civil and Criminal Cases, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1991 to 1991
- Damages: Economics of Catastrophic Injuries, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1991 to 1991
- Personal Injury Law: THE SLAM DUNK: Winning Opening Statements, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1992 to 1992
- Practical Trial Skills: Making the Most of Exhibits in Civil and Criminal Cases, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1992 to 1992
- Trial Advocacy Clinic: GENERAL SESSION: Exhibits and Demonstrative Evidence, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1992 to 1992
- Program Chair, Two Hot Topics: Punitive Damages in NC and Winning at Mediation, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1993 to 1993
- Practical Trial Skills: Making the Most of Exhibits in Civil and Criminal Cases, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1993 to 1993
- Expert Witnesses: Medical Witnesses in Medical Malpractice Cases, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1993 to 1993
- Alternative Dispute Resolution: Simulated Mediation of a Products Liability Case, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1995 to 1995
- Wrongful Death: Closing Argument: For the Plaintiff, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1995 to 1995
- Litigating and Recovering Punitive Damages: Shouldering the New Burdens of Proof to Obtain Punitives, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1995 to 1995
- National College of Advocacy: Dynamic Demonstrative Evidence, American Association for Justice, 02/09/1996 to 02/09/1996
- Seminar Speaker: All-Star Trial of a Civil Case, North Carolina Bar Foundation, 03/29/1996 to 03/29/1996
- Medical Malpractice: Pre-Screening and Case Selections: Which Frogs are Really Princes?, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1996 to 1996
- The People’s Choice Seminar: Winning Wrongful Death Closing Arguments, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1996 to 1996
- 32nd Annual Convention: Jury Selection Demonstration; Send-Off Address as Incoming President, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1996 to 1996
- National College of Advocacy: Dynamic Demonstrative Evidence, Association of Trail Lawyers of America, 02/07/1997 to 02/07/1997
- 33rd Annual Convention: Send-Off Address as Outgoing President, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1997 to 1997
- Seminar Speaker – Jury Selection Demonstration: Picking the Jury, Hillsboro/Wilmington, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1997 to 1997
- Seminar Speaker: Summation by the Masters, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1997 to 1997
- Medical Negligence: Examination of the Medical Expert: For the Plaintiff, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1997 to 1997
- Legal Issues: 1998 Update, ECU School of Medicine 20th Annual Health Law Forum (CME), 09/16/1998 to 09/16/1998
- Personal Injury Case: Jury Selection, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1998 to 1998
- Effectively Handling Wrongful Death Cases: Opening Statements & Closing Arguments, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1999 to 1999
- Medicine on Trial: Experts, The Bar & The Bench on Hot Topics In Medical Evidence, Autopsies as Evidence: Cross-Examining the Medical Examiner, North Carolina Bar Foundation, 05/26/1999 to 05/26/1999
- Overcoming Juror Bias: Overcoming Juror Biases in Jury Selection, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 2003 to 2003
- Civil Procedure Seminar: Trial and Judgment, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 2003 to 2003
- Mediation and Settlement: Conducting the Mediation, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 2003 to 2003
Honors And Awards
- 2014 Tier 1 Best Law Firm, U.S. News and Best Lawyers
- International Society of Barristers
- American Board of Trial Advocates
- The Best Lawyers in America
- Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers
- Methodist College Outstanding Alumnus of the Year, 2001
- Outstanding President, Fayetteville Kiwanis Club
- Supporting Fellow, The Roscoe Pound Foundation
- Walter Clark Award, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers
Professional Associations And Memberships
- American Bar Association, Member
- American Board of Trial Advocates, Member
- American Association for Justice, Sustaining Member
- American Association for Justice, State Delegate, 1999 to 2000
- American Association for Justice, Member, Committee on Key Persons, 1998 to 1999
- American Association for Justice, Member, ATLA List Advisory Committee, 1998 to 1999
- American Association for Justice, Member, PAC Task Force, 1998 to 1999
- American Association for Justice, Member, Committee on Elections, 1997 to 1999
- American Association for Justice, Member, Committee on Bar Liaison, 1996 to 1999
- American Association for Justice, Member, Council of Presidents, 1996 to 1997
- Civil Justice Foundation, Member, Board of Trustees, 1997 to 2000
- Cumberland County Bar Association, Member
- International Society of Barristers, Member
- North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, Chair, Committee on Endowment, 1999 to 2000
- North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, Chair, Committee on Political Action, 1999 to 2000
- North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, Member, Board of Governors, 1999 to 2000
- North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, Member, Legislative Committee, 1998 to 1999
- North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, Immediate Past President, 1997 to 1998
- North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, President, 1996 to 1997
- North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, President Elect, 1995 to 1996
- North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, Legislative Vice-President, 1992 to 1995
- North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, Co-Chair, Committee on Political Action, 1992 to 1994
- North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, Trustee, Committee on Political Action
- North Carolina State Bar, Member
- Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, Member
- Fayetteville Academy, Chairman, Board of Directors, 1988 to 1991
- Fayetteville Academy, Member, Board of Directors, 1986 to 1988
- Key Club, International, Honorary Member
- Methodist College, Member, Board of Trustees, 1997 to 2000
- United Way-Cumberland County, Chair, Lawyers Division, 1997 to 1998
- Wake Forest University Law Alumni Council, Member, President-Elect 2002 – 2003, 1998
- American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow
Pro Bono Activities
- Member, Wake Forest University President’s Club
- Member, Wake Forest University Deacon Club
- Member, Fayetteville Kiwanis Club
- Fayetteville Kiwanis Club, Outstanding President, 1984 to 1985
- North Carolina Health Planning Commission, 1998
- Roscoe Pound Foundation
- Wake Forest Alumni Council
Past Employment Positions
- Cumberland County Assistant District Attorney, Senior Trial Assistant, 1975 to 1977
- Berry, Caudle & Byrd, 1977 to 1986
- Berry & Byrd, 1986 to 1996
- Cumberland County, Assistant District Attorney, 1973 to 1977