The need

Attorneys representing consumers in a class action against a car manufacturer needed an expert in electronic power steering systems (EPS) to prove their case. The case accused the defendant of concealing EPS defects in over 1 million cars and leaving the owners of the vehicles in danger of risk and injury. A recall was eventually issued but many accidents that could be traced back to the defect had already occurred.

Our approach

From conversations with the client, we understood that the recall for the EPS defect overlapped with another recall regarding a power switch defect in the same vehicles. As such, general expertise regarding how the EPS defect, which caused steering failures, is separate from the ignition switch defects on the same vehicles was important. We went to work to find the best expert.

The expert

We found an expert with a B.S, M.S., and Ph.D. all in electrical engineering with over 30 years of experience as a Professor of Electrical Engineering at a renowned university. A well-known expert in power electronics, he had extensive experience in EPS and had written hundreds of papers and co-authored many books on power electronics. Furthermore, he had been honored by many organizations, was a Fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers, and had played several leadership roles in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Finally, he was a named inventor on 30 patents and had served as an expert witness in over 40 legal matters having been deposed and given testimony.