Products Liability

Products liability has evolved into a complex and immensely important issue confronting the manufacturing and insurance industries. Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP is proud to have developed one of the nation's strongest and most diversified products liability departments. We serve a wide range of product liability needs for our clients, with an emphasis on acting as trial counsel in federal and state courts and serving as regional or national coordinating counsel.

Litigation

We manage an extensive case load of civil litigation involving products liability matters. Our attorneys handle both catastrophic injury and routine products liability litigation in state and federal courts. We have an experienced team of lawyers who have achieved a remarkable level of success at trial. Our trial counsel are provided with superb support by the firm's Appellate Practice with its cadre of appellate attorneys.

The Products Liability Practice Group's trial counsel is experienced in representing manufacturers, distributors, and retailers regarding a wide variety of products. In addition, a significant number of our trial counsel have a sub-focus on representing the automotive and medical device community in products liability litigation. In the arena of medical device litigation, we often work together with the Medical Malpractice Group in the defense of medical device manufacturers.

Complex business litigation is an important part of the firm's products liability practice. The firm enjoys a substantial practice acting as lead counsel in nationwide and statewide class actions. In an era in which class actions in federal and state courts are proliferating, experience in handling class actions, coupled with an in-depth knowledge of the products involved, has proven critically important to our clients in the defense of these matters. Similarly, an increasing challenge for the firm's client base is the onslaught of unfair business practices claims. The firm has developed an extensive practice in representing products liability manufacturers and distributors in respect to claims of deceptive practices relating to the distribution of their products.

Lewis Brisbois represent clients in virtually every sector of commerce. Major areas of our Products Liability Practice involve members of the automotive industry, chemical companies, manufacturers of industrial machinery, medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, food processors and retailers, and consumer products manufacturers.

Defense of Insureds

We have an extensive insurance defense practice including the representation of insureds under general comprehensive or product liability and completed operation policies of insurance. The Products Liability Practice has considerable experience representing the insureds of foreign and domestic carriers in respect to all aspects of products liability defense. It is particularly sensitive to the needs of insurance carriers and to the demands of providing the best possible defense for their insureds.

Representation of Foreign Manufacturers

Lewis Brisbois has developed a substantial practice in representing manufacturers based in Europe and Asia and is experienced in meeting the specialized needs of those concerns. The size and diversity of the firm provides our Products Liability Practice with a wealth of attorneys who have foreign language skills to assist our trial counsel in the defense of foreign entities.

Technology

First and foremost, the Products Liability Practice Group is a trial department. It is equipped with cutting edge technology to scan, store, retrieve, and analyze voluminous data expeditiously and economically. At trial, the firm's technology and licensed software assures trial counsel, and their clients, of the best possible and most effective presentation of the evidence. The combination of experienced trial counsel coupled with cutting edge technology has helped win over juries across the nation.

Firm Clients

Lewis Brisbois is frequently selected to represent clients as national counsel in mass tort and products liability litigation, including asbestos cases, automotive litigation (rollover cases), dietary supplements (L-Tryptophan, ephedra), etc. The firm's skill in working cooperatively with co-counsel and local counsel, and experience with electronic database tools, allows clients to bring to bear the necessary resources to defend these challenging exposures.

The diversity of our products liability practice is reflected in our clients, which range from individuals, partnerships and closely held corporations to multi-national companies. We provide representation to foreign and domestic manufacturing concerns as well as foreign and domestic insurance carriers. Whether it is a single case in a state or federal court, mass tort claims requiring national coordination, or class action suits, in the field of products liability Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith provides strong, seasoned, and highly successful representation for its diverse client body.

Our attorneys are experienced in defending cases involving:

  • Aircraft
  • Automobiles
  • Airbags and Restraint Systems
  • Asbestos Floor Tiles
  • Batteries
  • Bathtubs and Bathroom fixtures
  • Boilers
  • Brakes
  • Breast Implants
  • Burglar Alarms
  • Cash Register Scanners
  • Chemicals used in Film Industry
  • Contact Lenses
  • Conveyor Belts
  • Cranes
  • Decking Material
  • Diet Drugs
  • Die-Cast Machines
  • Electronics
  • Elevators
  • Escalators
  • Exercise Equipment (Treadmills)
  • Fire Alarm Systems
  • Firearms
  • Food Products (beef, sausage, chocolate, etc.)
  • Fork Lifts
  • Fuel Tanks (underground)
  • Heaters
  • High Pressure Hoses
  • Home Appliances
  • Hospital Equipment
  • Insulation
  • Ladders
  • Medications
  • Medical Devices
  • Mobile Homes
  • Modular Buildings
  • Paint
  • Pesticides
  • Playground Equipment
  • Plastic Pipes
  • Propane Supply and Distribution Systems
  • Saws (gas and electric)
  • Saw Blades
  • Scaffolding
  • Shavers
  • Staple Guns
  • Steam Pipes
  • Sulfites as Food Preservatives
  • Tires

Chairs

  • James Doyle (Partner) - James.Doyle@lewisbrisbois.com, 404.348.8571
  • Steven Meyer (Partner) - Steve.Meyer@lewisbrisbois.com, 213.680.5024
  • Charles Reed (Partner) - Chuck.Reed@lewisbrisbois.com, 404.991.2175

Vice Chairs

  • Pamela Ferguson (Partner) - Pamela.Ferguson@lewisbrisbois.com, 415.438.6638
  • Michelle Gilboe (Managing Partner) - Michelle.Gilboe@lewisbrisbois.com, 612.428.5002
  • Esther Holm (Partner) - Esther.Holm@lewisbrisbois.com, 714.668.5510
  • Anthony Sonnett (Partner) - Anthony.Sonnett@lewisbrisbois.com, 213.599.7824