She crashed her Tesla Model S into a fire engine in May 2018 while Autopilot was on and she had been looking at her mobile phone. Lommatzsch was under the incorrect impression that the car would safely stop on its own if a different object, like a fire engine, was in its own way. She broke her foot in the collision, but also claims she has lost”the joy and joy of life and physical handicap.”
In 2015, Tesla rolled out its Autopilot program, which, when engaged, automatically takes on each the car’s breaking, steering, and lane shifting duties. But because of numerous Tesla crashes, including two which were deadly, the Autopilot program apparently doesn’t always do its job adequately.
Lommatzsch asserts that Tesla was negligent in placing a defective product on the marketplace that does not do what it claims to do: avoid injuries. Also, she’s is suing for failing to warn Tesla owners that it does not, in actuality, avoid accidents.
To establish faulty product, the plaintiff will have to demonstrate that Tesla’s Autopilot does not drive the vehicle safely. And this could just be proveable. Although Tesla has repeatedly claimed that its Autopilot feature reduces crash rates by 40%, this might be fake news. Based on NHTSA, there’s hardly any scientific data to back that claim. A number of other competitors have similar technologies, yet they haven’t rushed to place their product in the marketplace.
Plaintiffs may dig deeper into this, and discover that there’s a viable reason the competitive landscape for self-driving automobiles is so desolate.
Regarding failure to warn, Tesla asserts that it has repeatedly said Autopilot doesn’t shift blame for injuries from the driver to Tesla. In actuality, Elon Musk has been quoted as stating”The onus is on the pilot to guarantee that the autopilot is doing the right thing… We are not yet at the point where you could go to sleep and wake up in your destination. But saying it does not always make it so.
Drivers quickly get in the habit of paying very little attention to the street, lulled into being a passive passenger as opposed to an active driver. And it is possible, in accordance with other businesses in the driverless car space such as Google and Zoox, that Tesla should have seen this coming.
In the event you or someone you love, has been engaged in a Tesla crash with the Autopilot engaged, contact Our Personal Injury Law Firm at 800-816-1529 for a free consultation, we will review the details of your situation, and supply you with sound legal advice and recommend best next steps.
About Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez
