Self-driving cars are going to be a regular occurrence on American roads sooner than you may think – regardless of whether we’re quite sure we’re ready for them. One of the concerns for many people is whether the technology behind the cars is safe enough to avoid causing accidents. Should the worst-case scenario happen, how does self-driving car accident liability work? If you suffered injuries in an accident because of a malfunctioning self-driving motor vehicle, who holds the autonomous vehicle crash responsibility for paying for your injuries?
Learn more about how this kind of case works and how having our Minnesota car accident lawyers can help you deal with an unfair insurance company.
Multiple Parties Could Have Self-Driving Car Accident Liability for Your Injuries
Multiple factors can affect a car accident claim when it simply involves two cars with normal human drivers. When your accident has a self-driving car involved, however, the complexity of the situation increases significantly. Learn more about which parties could be responsible for paying your financial claim.
Human Occupant or Driver
Depending on the level of autonomy that the motor vehicle’s software offers, a human sitting the driver’s seat might still be necessary. Some cars may require the human driver to take over in certain situations. Perhaps the self-driving car occasionally puts an error message on the display that indicates the human driver should take control. However, if the driver is not paying attention and fails to take control, the driver could be liable for causing the crash. Our attorneys would attempt to review the recording software with the self-driving car to determine what actions the human driver took – or failed to take – to see whether the driver should be liable.
It’s also possible that the human driver had put the car in manual control mode before the crash, rather than using autonomous mode. The driver might lie and tell the police that the car was not in manual control mode. The investigation from our injury lawyers would attempt to show which mode the vehicle was in at the time of the crash.
Motor Vehicle Manufacturer
Product liability laws could help with placing the autonomous vehicle crash responsibility and blame on the shoulders of the manufacturer of the car. Our attorneys would have to prove that something malfunctioned with the motor vehicle and caused the crash in which you suffered injuries. Such malfunctions could include:
- Hardware failure
- Design defect
- Sensor flaws
- Manufacturing error
- Software bug
- Improper testing of the vehicle.
Because of the way product liability laws work, proving self-driving car accident liability for the manufacturer in a case like this is less complicated than proving fault on the part of another driver in a typical car accident injury claim. In a motor vehicle injury accident, our lawyers have to prove that negligence occurred on the part of the other driver. This means the other driver took actions that violated traffic laws or were simply not appropriate. Had the driver been safer or made a different decision behind the wheel, the accident would not have occurred, meaning your injuries were preventable. If our attorneys cannot find evidence of negligence from the other human driver, you won’t have an injury claim.
With product liability laws in place for a self-driving car accident case, though, we don’t have to show negligence. Instead, the law holds the manufacturer liable for making the error that led to the malfunction, even if the manufacturer did not intend to cause the error or could not have foreseen the error.
Software Development Company
Autonomous cars run on software. The vehicle performs actions based on the software’s measurements of speed, positioning, and obstacles. Many times, an autonomous car manufacturer will outsource software development to a third-party company. If the investigation by our attorneys shows that software errors led to the crash, we can try to hold the software development company liable.
Third-Party Manufacturers of Car Parts
Self-driving car accident liability can be similar to injury car crashes with human drivers when one of the car’s parts has a defect. The company that manufactured the defective part could be found liable for causing the accident and your injuries. Just like with human-navigated cars, self-driving cars make use of many parts that the car’s manufacturer sources from third-party part manufacturers. Many of these parts have nothing to do with the autonomous operation of the car.
Because this issue would fall under product liability laws, we don’t have to show negligence in this situation. However, it does take significant investigative work to show which part of the car failed and which third-party part manufacturer was liable.
Repair Technicians and Shops
If a repair shop attempts to fix a problem with a self-driving motor vehicle and fails to do so properly, the error could cause a system to malfunction, resulting in your injury accident.
Repair shops must be able to prove that they have the skill and certification to make repairs to self-driving cars. If technicians try to make repairs that they don’t know how to do, this is a sign of negligence that our lawyers might be able to use in seeking an injury claim from the insurance company for the repair shop.
At Tyroler Leonard Injury Law, We Will Fight for Your Maximum Financial Award After an Injury Accident
We Can Help With Self-Driving Car Accident Liability Cases
Without question, determining self-driving car accident liability on your own can be a frustrating process. With so many potential liable parties, trying to convince one of the insurance companies to accept blame and pay your financial claim is nearly impossible to do without legal representation. With the help of the Minneapolis car accident attorneys at Tyroler Leonard Injury Law, you have advocates on your side who will fight for your best possible outcome.
Don’t let insurance companies give you the runaround while your medical costs continue to climb. Let our team deal with the insurance companies for you, giving you the time you need to heal from your injuries. We have the experience you can trust with proven results that show our level of commitment to our clients. To learn more about autonomous vehicle crash responsibility and how we will take steps to try to maximize your financial award for your injuries, contact us today at (651) 259-1113.