Skip to Main Content

Meet Our Professionals

Kevin L. Chignell

Partner
Raleigh Office Relationship Partner
Raleigh | 919.890.4157
Fax | 919.834.4564

Kevin Chignell is a litigator focusing his practice on product liability cases, industrial accident litigation, and trucking and transportation defense. He has handled matters in state and federal courts for more than 20 years and is well-versed in the representation of companies and insurers in claim-related litigation and regulatory matters. Kevin is also a leader within Parker Poe, serving as the firm’s Raleigh Office Relationship Partner.

Kevin is skilled at counseling clients on managing litigation expenses. He collaborates closely with clients to understand their goals in order to resolve product liability, industrial accident, and commercial motor vehicle injury lawsuits, while delivering effective and value-efficient results. When resolution cannot be reached, Kevin does not hesitate to bring cases to trial.

While Parker Poe’s geographic footprint is in the southeastern region of the United States, Kevin handles claims all over the country and is accustomed to partnering with other firms when in the client’s best interest.

Kevin has earned a Yellow Belt Certification in Legal Lean Sigma® and Project Management from the Legal Lean Sigma Institute. He teamed up with clients to earn the certification through a two-day course that Parker Poe hosted. 

Product Liability Defense

Kevin has significant experience representing companies in product liability lawsuits, including manufacturing defect claims, design defect cases, and failure to warn claims. He handles cases involving medical devices; flooring, roofing materials, and windows; asbestos-related bodily injury; and property damage claims. Kevin’s product liability practice frequently includes complex consumer fraud allegations, such as unfair and deceptive trade practice claims. He has considerable experience using jury focus groups to help clients evaluate case exposures.

Industrial Accident Litigation

Kevin routinely serves as defense counsel in serious industrial accident cases, including the 2003 explosion that destroyed the West Pharmaceutical facility in Kinston, North Carolina, and resulted in six deaths. He has defended claims involving hydrogen explosions, catastrophic injuries, chemical releases resulting in inhalation injuries, third-degree burns, and traumatic brain injuries. He also has significant experience defending Woodson claims when employees attempt to sue their own employers for on-the-job accidents.

Trucking and Transportation Defense

Based in Raleigh, Kevin’s national practice serves trucking and transportation companies and insurance carriers in wrongful death and catastrophic injury claims resulting from commercial motor vehicle accidents. He frequently presents on safety issues, claim avoidance, crisis management guidelines, and accident response protocols and investigations. Both Kevin and Parker Poe are involved with the North Carolina Trucking Association. Kevin also serves on the board of directors for the Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA), the nation’s leading industry group for the defense of trucking and transportation companies.

Representative Experience

  • Served as lead counsel in the defense of a motor coach company involved in a rear-end collision that resulted in the death of three family members and serious psychological injury to a fourth family member who was trapped inside the vehicle for over an hour. Plaintiffs brought claims for negligent hiring, retention, and supervision, seeking punitive damages. After two days of trial, Kevin was able to settle the case on favorable terms.
  • Served as lead defense counsel for the manufacturer of a Class II medical device after a 19-year-old autistic individual asphyxiated at his home while using the device. The family filed a lawsuit and sought punitive damages, claiming defective design, failure to warn, fraud, and unfair and deceptive trade practices. The family hired a nationally recognized plaintiffs’ firm and retained leading experts to support their case. Kevin was able to secure summary judgment for the manufacturer in federal court on all claims.
  • Served as lead trial counsel in a case brought by a retired teacher against his own insurance company, alleging unfair treated in connection with the handling of a claim. Plaintiffs’ lawyer alleged bad faith and unfair and deceptive trade practices and sought punitive damages. After an eight-day jury trial that included testimony from multiple insurance experts, Kevin was able to secure a jury verdict on all claims for the insurer.
  • Represented the manufacturer of commercial kitchen flooring after the flooring allegedly failed in 150 commercial kitchens around the country. Kevin worked with the manufacturer’s national counsel to identify the best defense strategy and most effective evidence. After nationwide discovery and depositions of leading industry experts, Kevin was able to resolve the case in a favorable manner and secure a dismissal of all claims.

Selected Reported Cases

  • Sparks v. Oxy-Health, LLC, 134 F. Supp. 3d 961 (M.D.N.C. 2015) – Summary judgment on negligence and unfair and deceptive trade practice claims in a medical device case.
  • Daily Express, Inc. v. N.C. Dept. of Crime Control and Public Safety, 195 N.C. App. 288 (2009) – Citation and fine for overweight violation for trucking company overturned.
  • Central Carolina Bank and Trust Co. v. Security Life of Denver Ins. Co., 247 F. Supp. 2d 791 (M.D.N.C. 2003) – Summary judgment on unfair and deceptive trade practice claim in favor of a life insurance company.

Loading content

Loading content

Honors & Awards

  • The Best Lawyers in America "Lawyer of the Year" in Raleigh for Insurance Litigation, 2019 
  • The Best Lawyers in America in Commercial Litigation, 2013-2025; Insurance Litigation, Insurance Law, Personal Injury Litigation for Defendants, 2016-2025; Product Liability Litigation for Defendants, 2017-2025
  • Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished™ in Tort Defense; Trucking and Transportation; Products Liability; Insurance Coverage; Premises Liability; Construction Law

Memberships

  • Trucking Industry Defense Association, Member; Board of Directors, October 2015-present; Chair, 2013 Annual Conference
  • North Carolina Trucking Association, Member
  • North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys, Member
  • American College of Transportation Attorneys, Member
  • Defense Research Institute, Member
  • Camp Sea Gull and Camp Seafarer, Board of Advisors
  • Triangle Aquatic Center, Aquatic Advisory Board Member