SINGLETON SCHREIBER MANAGING PARTNER·SINGLETON SCHREIBER MANAGING PARTNER·SINGLETON SCHREIBER MANAGING PARTNER·SINGLETON SCHREIBER MANAGING PARTNER·
Lead counsel in Benavides v. Tesla.
The first wrongful death case against Tesla to go to trial, resulting in a $243 million verdict.
2025 The Best Lawyers in America
2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers
2024 Consumer Attorneys of San Diego — Outstanding Trial Lawyer Award
2024 Best Lawyers in America — Lawyer of the Year — Plaintiff’s Personal Injury Litigation
20+
Top National Awards
SINGLETON SCHREIBER MANAGING PARTNER·SINGLETON SCHREIBER MANAGING PARTNER·SINGLETON SCHREIBER MANAGING PARTNER·SINGLETON SCHREIBER MANAGING PARTNER·
Lead counsel in Benavides v. Tesla. The first wrongful death case against Tesla to go to trial, resulting in a $243 million verdict.
Louisiana State Bar
National Bar Association
Inns of Court
NFL Certified Contract Advisor
15+
years in trial
20+
Top National Awards
/ ABOUT BRETT SCHREIBER /
Fighting for People Who Need It Most.
Brett Schreiber is a nationally recognized trial attorney and co-founder of Singleton Schreiber. In 2025, he served as lead counsel in Benavides v. Tesla — the first wrongful death case against Tesla to go to trial — resulting in a landmark $243 million jury verdict.
A perennial Super Lawyer and multiple-time Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year,” Brett has spent his career earning firsts — in the courtroom and in the broader fight for justice.
Largest Autopilot Verdict
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Medical Malpractice Settlement
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The First Wrongful Death Trial Against Tesla.
A Landmark for Autonomous Vehicle Accountability.
Brett Schreiber served as lead trial counsel for the families of a woman killed and a man gravely injured in a crash involving a Tesla vehicle. Tesla’s design and marketing of its Autopilot system created a false sense of safety that contributed to the fatal collision. A Miami jury unanimously awarded $243 million — widely reported as one of the largest individual-plaintiff verdicts in American civil justice history.
Tesla designed Autopilot only for controlled access highways yet deliberately chose not to restrict drivers from using it elsewhere… Today's verdict represents justice for Naibel's tragic death and Dillon's lifelong injuries.
- Brett Schreiber
/ PRACTICE AREAS /
What Brett Fights For.
/ CASE RESULTS /
Verdicts & Settlements That Changed Lives.
A representative sample of results obtained for clients.
Federal Jury Verdict
$243 Million
Autopilot / Wrongful Death
Benavides v. Tesla, 2025 — First wrongful death trial against Tesla to proceed to verdict.
Settlement
$30 Million
Medical Malpractice
Joint replacement surgeries — systemic hospital misconduct
Jury Verdict
$23.5 Million
Dangerous Conditions — Public Property
Top 100 Civil Verdicts in America, Top 10 in California
Jury Verdict
$16.4 Million
Dangerous Roadway
Falling tree branch, State Route 79 — brain bleed, spinal fractures, shattered femur
Settlement
$14.5 Million
Construction / Gas Explosion
Downtown San Diego — third-degree burns
Jury Verdict
$5.6 Million
Dangerous Roadway
Head-on collision, centerline failure — Top 50 Personal Injury Verdicts in California
Settlement
$3 Million
Medical Malpractice
Nerve damage during routine blood draw — Kaiser Permanente
Confidential Settlement
Seven Figures
Product Liability
Polaris RZR rollover, manufacturing defect, permanent hand injuries
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case.
/ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS/
Your Questions. Straight Answers.
Brett Schreiber built his career on clarity and accountability in the courtroom and with his clients. Below are answers to the questions he hears most.
Brett Schreiber is a nationally recognized trial attorney and Founding Partner of Singleton Schreiber, one of the country's leading plaintiffs' law firms. He leads the firm's Personal Injury and Wrongful Death practice, representing individuals and families against corporations, government entities, and institutions responsible for serious harm. He is admitted to practice in California, Hawaii, and before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Brett handles serious personal injury and wrongful death cases involving defective products, dangerous roadways, corporate misconduct, medical malpractice, class actions, civil rights violations, consumer protection, and wildfire and flood litigation. He is particularly recognized for complex, high-stakes cases against large corporations and government defendants — including landmark litigation against Tesla over its Autopilot system.
Brett works on a contingency fee basis — meaning there are no upfront costs and no fees unless he wins your case. You can request a free case evaluation at any time by calling (619) 771-3473 or submitting a request online.
You can reach Brett's office by phone at (619) 771-3473, by email at bschreiber@singletonschreiber.com, or by submitting a case evaluation request. His primary office is in San Diego, with additional offices in Pasadena, CA and Wailuku, HI.
Brett is guided by the Hebrew principle of tikkun olam — "to heal the world." He believes meaningful justice requires both courtroom advocacy and political engagement, and he routinely works with elected officials at the local, state, and national level to protect access to justice. He currently serves as an Officer of the Board of Directors of Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC).
In August 2025, a Miami federal jury awarded $243 million to the families of Naibel Benavides Leon, who was killed, and Dillon Angulo, who was gravely injured, in a 2019 crash involving a Tesla operating on Autopilot. Brett Schreiber served as lead trial counsel. It was the first wrongful death case against Tesla to proceed to trial and is widely reported as one of the largest individual-plaintiff verdicts in American civil justice history. In February 2026, a federal judge upheld the verdict in full, rejecting Tesla's efforts to overturn or reduce it.
The jury found that Tesla designed Autopilot exclusively for controlled-access highways but deliberately chose not to restrict drivers from using it on other roads. That design and marketing decision created a false sense of safety that directly contributed to the fatal collision. The case also involved a 2023 federal recall related to Tesla's driver-monitoring system.
Yes — Brett Schreiber's office is actively pursuing Tesla Autopilot and Full Self-Driving litigation. The Benavides verdict established that Tesla can be held liable for designing a system marketed as safe for conditions it was not built to handle. If you or a family member were injured or killed in a crash involving Tesla's driver-assistance technology, contact Brett's office for a free case evaluation.
Brett has secured numerous multi-million-dollar results, including:
- $243 Million — Federal jury verdict against Tesla, Autopilot wrongful death (2025)
- $30 Million — Settlement, medical malpractice / unnecessary joint replacement surgeries
- $23.5 Million — Jury verdict, dangerous public property — Top 100 civil verdicts in America
- $16.4 Million — Jury verdict, dangerous roadway, State Route 79
- $14.5 Million — Settlement, construction gas explosion, downtown San Diego
- $5.6 Million — Jury verdict, dangerous roadway, head-on collision
- $3 Million — Settlement, medical malpractice, Kaiser Permanente nerve injury
Yes. Brett has successfully litigated against the State of California and Caltrans in multiple cases involving dangerous road conditions. His $23.5 million verdict and $16.4 million verdict both arose from the state's failure to maintain safe public infrastructure — and both rank among the top verdicts in California history.
Brett has been recognized consistently for over 15 years. Highlights include:
- Best Lawyers in America — Lawyer of the Year (multiple years, 2019–2024)
- Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers (2025 & 2026)
- Consumer Attorneys of San Diego — Trial Lawyer of the Year (2021)
- Super Lawyer — every year since 2017
- National Trial Lawyers — Top 40 Under 40
- Top 100 Verdicts in America & California (multiple years)
- 2026 California Legal Awards — Attorney of the Year Finalist
/ INSIGHTS & COMMENTARY /
From the Courtroom to the Conversation
Brett Schreiber writes on the cases, legal trends, and justice issues that matter most — from autonomous vehicle liability to what families need to know when they’ve been wronged.
