Brett Schreiber, Founding Partner and head of Singleton Schreiber LLP’s Personal Injury and Wrongful Death practice group, is a seasoned trial attorney known for litigating complex cases involving auto accidents, defective products, medical malpractice, and hazardous roadways. Guided by the Jewish principle of tikkun olam (“to heal the world”), he not only fights for justice in the courtroom but also dedicates his time to civil justice and philanthropic efforts. One of his most impactful cases stemmed from a tragic crash involving a Level 2 autonomous vehicle that killed a woman and seriously injured her boyfriend. Despite early claims of cooperation, the vehicle manufacturer withheld critical crash data stored in the vehicle’s Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) computer. Law enforcement and attorneys received only partial “over-the-air” uploads, akin to a vague table of contents rather than a complete narrative.
Years later, after subpoenas and dead ends, the ADAS computer was discovered in an overlooked evidence storage facility. The manufacturer claimed the data could only be accessed through their proprietary tools and systems. Still, a hacker, located with the help of a journalist, successfully extracted the complete crash data. It revealed that the manufacturer had received the data moments after the crash but denied having it for four years. With undeniable proof of this cover-up, the court sanctioned the manufacturer with hundreds of thousands of dollars in penalties. While the monetary penalty may have a minimal financial impact on such a massive corporation, the case demonstrated that digital evidence, once thought to be irretrievable, can be recovered and that tech companies can be held accountable for concealing the truth.
