It is not enough for a law firm to know the law of automotive product liability. It must know the product itself, the business and the people of the company that makes it, and the industry in which it is sold. At Bowman and Brooke, we take pride in knowing all those in order to give motor vehicle and component manufacturers the defense that they deserve, where and when they need it.
From first beginnings and a primary focus defending some of the country's earliest automotive product liability cases, such as Larsen v. General Motors Corp., 391 F.2d 495 (1965), followed by a number of widely publicized trial verdicts, to today's ranking as a top U.S. product liability law firm by both The Legal 500 and Law360, our reputation continues to accelerate. In fact, Chambers USA 2015 noted that Bowman and Brooke is known for an "[i]mpressive trial bench with broad capabilities in the automobile space, representing major clients in bet-the-company litigation."
In addition to having tried more than 900 product liability lawsuits throughout 48 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and several Canadian provinces, we serve as national and regional counsel for more than a dozen major automotive manufacturers, handling pattern litigation and discovery across the country, as well as lead roles in mass tort actions involving the industry’s highest profile litigation. With nearly two dozen first-chair trial lawyers with specific automotive product liability experience, it’s not unusual to find Bowman and Brooke trial teams in two, three or four jurisdictions at a time. In the process, we have developed the tools and resources to cost effectively manage document-intensive lawsuits and claims. We have gathered the background material necessary to cross-examine expert witnesses who frequently appear for plaintiffs in automotive cases.
We have worked with the engineering, forensic, medical, and economic experts who are the most knowledgeable and effective in defending these cases.
As a result, nearly every automotive manufacturer around the globe has asked us to defend and try their cases—and we have delivered. Time and again, we’ve been to verdict in high stakes litigation in troublesome venues stretching from Alaska to Puerto Rico and Texas to Vermont. With sophisticated legal and technical capabilities and resources in twelve strategically located offices, we can quickly and effectively serve our clients anywhere, anytime, any case.
Nationwide, Bowman and Brooke represents manufacturers of cars, trucks, vans and other on-road and off-road vehicles involving claims and allegations such as:
- Airbags and the absence of airbags
- Brakes, including foundation and ABS systems
- Car seats/child restraints
- Crashworthiness
- Door latches
- Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
- Fuel systems
- Fires, including post-collision fuel-fed fires, and electrical fires
- Glazing
- Handling and stability
- Ignition switches
- Metallurgical failures
- Restraint systems, including passive seat belts, air bags, partial latching, inertial unlatching and rear seat shoulder belts
- Rollover/roof crush
- Seats, including seatback and seat track failures
- Side impact crashes
- Steering assemblies
- Tires, including wheel assemblies
- Transmissions
- Unintended acceleration
- Vehicle structures
- Warranty claims