R. Douglas Gentile

Experience

Doug began his legal career in a civil litigation defense firm and worked on a local, regional and national basis for numerous Fortune 500 companies in the defense of product liability cases. These cases involved claims of product defect in, among other things, airplanes, automobiles, recreational vehicles (motorcycles, ATVs, personal watercraft), medical devices and prescription drugs. By 1991, Doug began to transition his practice from defense work to the representation of persons who had experienced catastrophic personal losses, and this transition was completed in 1995 with the formation of the law firm.

Since then, Doug’s practice has been primarily dedicated to the representation of individuals who have suffered injuries, or whose family members have been killed as a result of defective products. His clients have included dozens of children who received catastrophic brain and spinal cord injuries, and parents of children who have died, because of poorly designed, defective child safety seats. He has also worked with clients who have suffered life-altering losses because of vehicle occupant protection systems that, instead of preventing injuries, actually cause them, as well as manufacturing equipment and chemicals that maim and kill. In addition, Doug has also been active in class action litigation on cases involving defective vehicles, hazardous substances, consumer fraud, the wrongful use of personal information, the theft of private, financial information, violations of personal privacy statutes and violations of ERISA vested benefits plans.

Doug has been a frequent speaker at national seminars and conventions on the issues surrounding the use, and all too common failure of, child safety seats, and he has authored numerous papers on the subject of child seat crashworthiness. In 2018, Doug was chosen to be a member of a panel of nationally recognized experts for the Children in Autonomous Vehicles Blue Ribbon Panel. This group, led by Safe Kids Worldwide, is made up of automobile and technology representatives, consumer advocacy groups, research institutes and pediatric organizations.  The panel worked hard to create the first-ever set of recommendations to ensure the safety of children in autonomous vehicles, which were set forth in a report released in October 2018. Doug is currently acting as one of only four advisors to two working groups that are part of the Safe Kids International Consortium on Protecting Children in Autonomous Vehicles.

Areas of Practice

• Catastrophic Loss
• Litigation

Activities and Memberships

• The Missouri Bar
• Kansas Bar Association
• Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys
• Kansas Trial Lawyers Association
• Attorneys Information Exchange Group

Honors and Recognition

• Received the Trailblazer’s Award from National Law Journal, Plaintiffs’ Attorneys, 2022
• Received Legal Champion Award from Missouri Lawyer’s Weekly, 2019
• Selected for Children in Autonomous Vehicles Blue Ribbon Panel, Safe Kids Worldwide, 2018
• Named by Benchmark as Litigation Star
• Selected as among The Best Lawyers in America, Plaintiffs’ Attorneys
• Selected as Super Lawyer, Litigation
• Received highest attorney ranking from Martindale-Hubbell – AV Preeminent