Tesla settles wrongful death lawsuit over fatal 2018 Autopilot crash

Tesla has settled a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Walter Huang, an Apple engineer and father of two. In 2018, Walter Huang died after his Model X SUV with self-driving capabilities crashed into a highway guardrail near Mountain View, California.

The settlement comes as jury selection and trial begin Monday in California Superior Court. The settlement allows Tesla to avoid the disclosure of evidence and testimony in the high-profile case.

The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the fatal crash and revealed in 2020 that it found Tesla’s technology was at least partially responsible for the crash, along with possible driver distraction and road construction issues. The National Transportation Safety Board believes Huang had been watching games on his phone at some point before the collision.

Federal agencies found that Tesla’s forward-collision warning system did not sound an alert, nor did Huang’s automatic emergency braking system when Huang’s Model X accelerated into a barrier on the side of Highway 101 with Autopilot engaged. start up. Faded lane markings and barriers — The NTSB said in 2020 that positioning can also cause collisions.

Huang’s family is suing Tesla for negligent homicide, with their claim centered in part on alleged safety and design flaws in the company’s driver-assist systems. The case is Sz Huang et al. v. Tesla Inc. et al. in the Superior Court of Santa Clara County, California.

Lawyer Huang also pointed out in court documents that Tesla, its CEO Elon Musk and others have stated in social media and marketing messages that Autopilot allows Tesla vehicles to be driven safely without having to pay attention to the road at all times. , and there is no need to be alert. Keep your hands on the vehicle’s steering wheel.

In internal Tesla emails cited in court documents, Tesla executives and engineers discussed how they became complacent while driving Tesla vehicles with Autopilot or related advanced features turned on. They described using these systems to read emails and check their phones while driving.

A civil jury trial is scheduled to begin this week in a San Jose, California, courthouse ahead of Tesla’s settlement.

Tesla lawyers argued that Huang was an inattentive driver who ostensibly knew better but who was playing a mobile game on his phone at the time of the accident.

The company has applied to seal the amounts listed in the settlement from public view.

The fatal crash and the documents in the lawsuit have raised questions among many potential shareholders and customers about Tesla’s culture, attitude toward safety and the quality of its driver-assistance systems.

If a jury finds Tesla liable (in part or in whole) for Huang’s death, the trial would also set a precedent for the widespread product liability lawsuits the electric car maker now faces, making it easier for other plaintiffs to sue or win. Related Litigation. question.

exist May 2022“We will never seek victory in a justice case against us even though we may win,” Musk declared in a social media post, adding, “We will never surrender/resolve the cases against us. Our case is unjust, even though we are likely to lose.”

Tesla’s lead lawyer at law firm Bowman and Brooke LLP was not immediately available for comment Monday.

In a filing asking the court to sign off on the terms of the settlement, Tesla’s lawyers wrote that the company had “reached a settlement agreement with the plaintiffs to end years of litigation.” They said they wanted to determine the exact amount of the settlement because “other potential claimants (or plaintiffs’ law firms) may view the settlement amount as evidence of Tesla’s potential liability for losses, which could chill subsequent settlement opportunities.” effect” case. “

Attorneys for the Hwang family at law firm Minami Tamaki and Walkup Melodia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.