Especially with the completion of the Tesla Gigafactory in Travis County, autonomous vehicles (AVs) have become a common alternative to rideshare services and traditional taxis. People can arrange for a Waymo vehicle or a Tesla Cybercab to transport them from their current location to their intended destination.
They can enjoy all of the benefits of on-demand transportation without the social stress of interacting with a driver, the risk of driver misconduct and the cost of leaving a gratuity for the person who transported them. In theory, AV transportation is relatively safe, as sensors and software can largely eliminate the risk of human error causing a crash.
Of course, collisions involving autonomous vehicles do still occur, and the AV might even be at fault for a collision. What rights to people have in cases where a Cybercab or Waymo vehicle causes a crash that injures them and damages their property?
Product liability law applies after AV crashes
When drivers make mistakes on the road, they are liable for their negligence or violations of traffic statutes. When there is no driver in the vehicle, the manufacturer who produced the vehicle or possibly outside manufacturers responsible for key components, such as sensors, may be liable for the crash.
Product liability lawsuits against large manufacturers, such as Tesla, are very complex legal matters. Plaintiffs must show that improper software or vehicle design is the underlying cause of the crash. To do so, they generally need to prove that the AV did something unsafe or illegal.
Those involved in AV crashes likely need legal representation as soon as possible after the collision. The attorney representing the injured party can send a spoliation letter to ensure that the company that manufactured and operated the AV retains all critical black-box telemetry data.
The telemetry information obtained during the discovery stage of the lawsuit can validate that programming issues or sensor failures led to the vehicle doing something unsafe or illegal that caused the collision. AV product liability lawsuits are a relatively new area of law, and injured people must take on powerful multinational businesses to secure compensation.
Talking with a lawyer as soon as possible can help people preserve evidence, understand their rights and hold manufacturers responsible for producing vehicles that cause devastating crashes. People who have support from a professional familiar with the complexities of an autonomous vehicle crash claim have the best chance of holding manufacturers responsible.
