Focusing his litigation efforts on catastrophic injury, products liability, and wrongful death cases, Kevin Dean represents victims and families affected by hazardous consumer products, occupational and industrial accidents, fires, premise injuries, toxic exposure and other incidents of negligence.
Kevin has extensive experience litigating vehicle defect cases and serves on the Trust Advisory Committee for victims of deadly airbags throughout Takata Corp.’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy process. Additionally, Kevin advocates for consumers who own or were harmed by explosive ARC airbag inflators and non-deploy airbags. He was appointed in 2023 by Judge Eleanor L. Ross to serve on the Plaintiffs’ Leadership Committee for the ARC Inflators MDL No. 3051 in the Northern District of Georgia.
Kevin also represents people affected by Volkswagen's diesel emissions fraud and GM’s misconduct regarding its defective vehicles in In re General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litigation. He represents clients against 'the Big Three' and foreign automotive manufacturers and has done so in cases involving defective seat backs, head restraints, brakes, door locks, door latches, seat belts and roll overs. He previously served as trial co-counsel in Guzman v. Ford (2001), the first case brought to trial regarding a defective outside door latch handle, and in the vehicle rollover case Hayward v. Ford (2005). Prior to joining Motley Rice, Kevin was a member of the plaintiffs’ litigation team in the defective seat belt case, Malone v. General Motors Corporation (1998).
Outside of his vehicle defect work, Kevin is a key member of the Motley Rice team representing service members, their families, and civilians who were exposed to contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. In 2023, he was appointed to the Camp Lejeune Litigation Plaintiffs' Executive Committee. Committed to occupational safety, Kevin also secured a jury verdict against SAR Automation, L.P., for $8.8 million in the wrongful death of a worker who fell at a Boeing facility and left behind a widow and two small children.*
Kevin has been involved in several investigations of catastrophic fire cases and reached a multi-million dollar settlement for the surviving children of a couple tragically killed in a house fire allegedly caused by defective electrical wiring in a golf cart. Kevin was lead plaintiffs’ counsel in In re Charleston Firefighter Litigation, a wrongful death and negligence case against Sofa Super Store, contractors and furniture manufacturers brought by the families of the nine firefighters who died in the 2007 Sofa Superstore warehouse fire.
Since the 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, Kevin has been helping people and businesses pursuing litigation along with filing and negotiating claims for others through the programs the two BP settlements established. He also was a member of the oil spill MDL's GCCF Jurisdiction & Court Oversight Workgroup.
Kevin also litigated the health insurance fraud and post-claims underwriting case Clark v. Security Life Insurance Company, the largest civil RICO case in Georgia history, and Wiggins v. Parsons Nursery, one of the largest environmental and health contamination cases in South Carolina. Kevin served as a County Commissioner on the Early County Georgia Board of Commissioners and still holds the honor of having been the youngest elected commissioner in county history.
Kevin frequently appears in local and national broadcast and print media discussing legal matters of workplace safety, fire prevention and other products liability, as well as specific casework and efforts for changes and improvements in various industries. Recognized as an AV rated attorney Martindale-Hubbell, Kevin co-authored “Dangerous Doors and Loose Latches,” published in Trial Magazine (2004) for the American Association for Justice, and authored “The Right to Jury Trial in ERISA Civil Enforcement Actions” published in The American Journal of Trial Advocacy (1989).
* Please remember that every case is different. Any result we achieve for one client in one matter does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.
Awards, Accolades & Recognitions
Best Lawyers
Charleston, S.C.
2017-2026 Personal injury litigation - plaintiffs
2019-2026 Product Liability Litigation - plaintiffs
Super Lawyers
2015-2020 South Carolina Super Lawyers list
Personal injury - general: plaintiff; Personal injury - products: plaintiff; Personal injury - medical malpractice: plaintiff
Lawdragon
2020-2025 Lawdragon 500 Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers
Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Motor Vehicle
Benchmark Plaintiff
2012-2013 National 'Litigation Star': mass torts/product liability
2012-2014 South Carolina “Litigation Star”: product liability
Blog Posts
August 10, 2022
Now law, Honoring our PACT Act expands resources for victims of military toxic exposure Causes, Not Just Cases
by: Kevin R. Dean
March 16, 2018
Takata bankruptcy resolutions reached, more news to come for victims Causes, Not Just Cases
by: Kevin R. Dean
July 19, 2017
Recalled Takata airbags continue to threaten the driving public while bankruptcy plays out Causes, Not Just Cases
by: Kevin R. Dean
News
October 9, 2025
What to Know Should Fire or Explosion Claim Your Home
by:
Kevin R. Dean
April 28, 2025
The history and legacy of Workers’ Memorial Day
by:
M. Nolan We
