Bowman and Brooke Logo

PRACTICES & INDUSTRIES

While our firm is best known for defending automobile manufacturers, our lawyers counsel an array of Global 500 clients in high-stakes, national litigation in a range of industries.

Product Liability Litigation

Broken link in a chain

Bowman and Brooke has defended thousands of wrongful death, catastrophic personal injury and other product liability claims brought against motor vehicle, chemical, construction, drug and medical device, heavy equipment and recreational equipment manufacturers. Day in and day out, we challenge well-financed plaintiff attorneys in locales unfriendly to business interests across the country. Through intensive preparation, creative presentation and persuasion, we become your advocates in both the courtroom and at the bargaining table.

                       

Bowman and Brooke is known for being a dedicated product liability defense firm, fielding a deep trial bench. Highly regarded for its representation of the automotive industry, with a client list that features numerous leading manufacturers. Broad practice also includes strength in areas such as medical devices and consumer products. Continuing to expand its geographic presence.

—Chambers USA, 2018

                 

We tailor our advocacy to your needs. Our legal teams develop a personal knowledge and appreciation of your organization’s business and culture as well as your product design, testing and quality control procedures. We develop a deep understanding of the technical and scientific principles applicable to your products. We field a team of trial lawyers, paralegals, investigators and experts devoted to your case from start to finish. We individualize our communication with you, the in-house lawyers and engineers who provide critical perspectives, experiences and skills to the defense team.

CASE RESULTS DEPEND UPON A VARIETY OF FACTORS UNIQUE TO EACH CASE. CASE RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE OR PREDICT A SIMILAR RESULT IN ANY FUTURE CASE.
  • Nov 22, 2022
    Lake Charles, LA

    On November 22, 2022, after eight days of trial and 30 minutes of deliberations, a federal jury in Lake Charles, Louisiana agreed that Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. was not responsible for a boat explosion and fire that injured three men. The consolidated case, styled Gonzalez v. Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A. was venued in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana located in Lake Charles, Louisiana.  

  • Oct 07, 2022
    Reno, NV

    A Washoe Nevada County jury found Caterpillar, Inc. and its loader vehicle were not responsible for the death of a miner. The case  involved a 2009 Load-Haul-Dump (LHD) designed and manufactured by Caterpillar, that rolled over a miner when he failed to secure the LHD by setting the parking brake and other means, which resulted in his death. 

  • Mar 29, 2022
    Montgomery, AL
    On March, 29, 2022, an Alabama jury unanimously agreed that Husqvarna and its riding mower were not responsible in the death of a lawncare maintenance worker. The case, Easterwood v Husqvarna Professional Products, Inc., involved the overturn of a zero-turn radius (ZTR) mower down an embankment at a vacation resort that resulted in the death of the worker.
  • Mar 01, 2020
    Riverside, CA

    In a California trial involving allegations that a 2014 Ford Focus was a lemon and that Ford Motor Company concealed material facts from plaintiffs, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Carolyn Greene entered an Order on September 24, 2020 awarding Ford $97,186.27 in costs from plaintiffs.  Much of the costs awarded were expert and travel costs.   The Court ruled that Ford was entitled to recover its outside expert fees because plaintiffs had declined a CCP 998 Offer from Ford.  The case is titled Leonila V. Ambriz and Erick Ambriz v. Ford Motor Company, Riverside County Superior Court Case No. RIC1612390.  A defense verdict had been rendered on March 11, 2020 after 10 days of trial and 1 hour and 15 minutes of deliberations.    

  • Jan 23, 2020
    Pontiac, MI
    As a national product liability firm to Ford Motor Company, Bowman and Brooke served as Lead Trial Counsel in Kokeny v. Ford. Following two weeks of trial, an Oakland County Circuit Court jury returned a unanimous defense verdict – no cause on January 23, 2020, in this alleged design and manufacturing defect case.
  • March 6, 2023
    News
    Bowman and Brooke LLP is excited to announce the expansion of its Texas offices with the addition of six product liability and complex commercial litigators, bringing the Firm’s Texas lawyer team to 30 strong, with 14 attorneys in Dallas and 16 in Austin.  
     
  • March 1, 2023
    News
    Bowman and Brooke is thrilled to announce that Los Angeles Senior Counsel Stacy Young has been named a Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellow for 2023. Additionally, Bowman and Brooke Phoenix Associate Dwayne Burns and Detroit Associate Jasmine Owens have been selected as 2023 LCLD Pathfinders.
  • February 14, 2023
    Legal Alert

    In January, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the “Proposed Rule”) that would upend the status quo and bar manufacturers and other employers from using non-compete clauses to protect their trade secrets and confidential information as well as jeopardizing the historical investments made by companies in training their executives, engineers, and sales teams. The Proposed Rule also puts at risk the valuable good will employers possess with existing customers and vendors. The FTC’s proposal constitutes an unprecedented expansion of the FTC’s authority to regulate employer/worker contractual terms as unfair methods of competition under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The FTC, however, is still soliciting comments to its ill-advised Proposed Rule.  

  • February 1, 2023
    News

    Today Bowman and Brooke marks 38 years of experience as a nationally renowned high-profile trial firm for the automotive industry; and as we like to say, the defense never rests.

  • October 17, 2022
    Events
    Bowman and Brooke Partners Travis Wheeler and Amanda Heitz are attending the PLAC Fall Conference in Park City, Utah. Travis, along with attorneys from Waymo and Zoox, Inc., two autonomous automobile manufacturers, will be covering “AI, Robotaxis, and Autonomy: What Lawsuits Are Coming Down The Road?

Integrated Services

In addition to providing stellar legal counsel, we integrate our provision of other key services with the work of our legal teams. The result? Highly effective and efficient client service.