Tesla has requested a federal court in Florida to overturn a jury’s verdict that found the company partially liable for a crash in 2019, which resulted in the death of a pedestrian and severe injuries to another individual. Victims’ attorneys argued that Tesla’s Autopilot driver assistance system contributed to the incident by failing to alert the driver and activate the brakes.
In its appeal, Tesla attributed blame to the driver, George McGee, and sought either a new trial or a reduction in the $243 million awarded in damages. The company asserted that the jury’s decision contradicted “common sense,” arguing that automakers should not be held liable for the actions of reckless drivers. Tesla also criticized the victims’ legal team for presenting what it described as irrelevant evidence.
Conversely, attorney Brett Schreiber, representing the victims, maintained that the jury’s verdict reflected a shared responsibility and emphasized the role that Autopilot and misrepresentations of its capabilities played in the crash. He expressed confidence that the court would uphold the original ruling.
During the trial, it was established that McGee had lost sight of the road after dropping his phone, leading the vehicle to crash into a parked SUV and subsequently strike two pedestrians, Naibel Benavides Leon, who was killed, and her boyfriend Dillon Angulo, who suffered significant injuries.
The jury awarded a total of $329 million in damages, which included $129 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages intended to discourage future harmful behavior from Tesla. The Florida case marked the first federal trial alleging that Tesla’s Autopilot contributed to a fatal crash, amidst other lawsuits related to the software.
Previously, Tesla had settled a lawsuit regarding a 2018 incident and faced a separate finding of no fault in a California case involving another death linked to Autopilot. McGee, who had his own lawsuit settled with the victims for an undisclosed amount, indicated during the trial that he believed the Autopilot system would assist him in making mistakes but felt it had failed in this instance.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgdjx0vgn3o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss