Tesla sued by family of Silicon Valley driver killed in accident with X model autopilot

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The family of a Tesla owner killed in an accident in the heart of Silicon Valley while driving his model X with the autopilot of the engaged manufacturer, filed a lawsuit for wrongful death, claiming that the semi driving function -automatic was faulty and was the cause.

Walter Huang, 38 years old at the time, died on March 23, 2018 when his vehicle crashed against a concrete obstacle located at US View in Mountain View, California. The vehicle's navigation system has misinterpreted road lines on the road. the concrete median and did not dampen the X model, but accelerated it, according to the lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County State Court on April 26.

Tesla "beta tests its autopilot software on real-world drivers," said Mark Fong, partner of Minami Tamaki, one of the companies representing Huang's family, in a statement. "The Huang family wants to help prevent this tragedy from happening to other drivers using Tesla vehicles or semi-autonomous vehicles."

The charges against Tesla in this lawsuit include, but are not limited to, manufacturer's liability, defective product design, lack of warning, intentional or negligent misrepresentation and misleading advertising. The complaint, which did not specify the amount of damages sought, also refers to the State of California as a defendant for not replacing the missing guardrail around the median, which could have mitigated the impact of the claim. accident.

Tesla and the California Attorney General's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The lawsuit comes a little over a week after CEO Elon Musk touted the gains made in Tesla's automated driving technology, including a new computer specifically designed for autonomous vehicles, and plans to have Teslas "self-driving" on the road by next year. Tesla said the drivers of his current system should always be ready to regain control of the car; the system provides visual and audible alerts if hands are away from the steering wheel for an extended period. But the company's marketing materials and its forward-looking general manager have been criticized for touting the capabilities of the autopilot, perhaps encouraging drivers to give up more control than it is safe.

After the Mountain View crash, the company said that he was deeply saddened and that "safety is at the heart of everything we do and every decision we make, so the loss of a life in an accident involving a Tesla vehicle is difficult for us all."

Autopilot is a semi-automatic system to use when driving on highway. Although Tesla recommends that drivers be ready to regain control, Huang was not the first person to be killed using it.

There have been multiple accidents, sometimes fatal ones, involving drivers using the autopilot, starting with an accident in Florida in 2016, which killed Joshua Brown, 40 years old. He used the autopilot when his car hit a truck that was passing him on a divided highway near Williston, Florida, which the car system did not detect. Still, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found no flaws in the technology and took no action against the automaker Closing of a six-month survey in January 2017.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which opened an investigation into the Huang accident, confirmed in a preliminary report this autopilot was used at the time of the accident. He also found that his hands had been detected on the steering wheel "for a total of 34 seconds, three times, in the 60 seconds preceding the impact". Despite this, "the vehicle did not detect the driver's hands on the steering wheel six seconds before the accident. "

The federal agency did not say when its final report will be released. NTSB removed Tesla as a party to the investigation in April 2018, for "disclosing investigation information prior to their verification and confirmation".

"Such incomplete information is often the source of speculation and false assumptions about the probable cause of an accident, which is detrimental to the investigative process and the traveling public", said the NTSB.

The case of Sz Hua Huang and others c. Tesla Inc., State of California, no. 19CV346663, filed in California Superior Court, County of Santa Clara

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The family of a Tesla owner killed in an accident in the heart of Silicon Valley while driving his model X with the autopilot of the engaged manufacturer, filed a lawsuit for wrongful death, claiming that the semi driving function -automatic was faulty and was the cause.

Walter Huang, 38 years old at the time, died on March 23, 2018 when his vehicle crashed against a concrete obstacle located at US View in Mountain View, California. The vehicle's navigation system has misinterpreted road lines on the road. the concrete median and did not dampen the X model, but accelerated it, according to the lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County State Court on April 26.

Tesla "beta tests its autopilot software on real-world drivers," said Mark Fong, partner of Minami Tamaki, one of the companies representing Huang's family, in a statement. "The Huang family wants to help prevent this tragedy from happening to other drivers using Tesla vehicles or semi-autonomous vehicles."

The charges against Tesla in this lawsuit include, but are not limited to, manufacturer's liability, defective product design, lack of warning, intentional or negligent misrepresentation and misleading advertising. The complaint, which did not specify the amount of damages sought, also refers to the State of California as a defendant for not replacing the missing guardrail around the median, which could have mitigated the impact of the claim. accident.

Tesla and the California Attorney General's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The lawsuit comes a little over a week after CEO Elon Musk announced gains in Tesla's automated driving technology, including a new computer designed specifically for autonomous vehicles, and plans to ensure that Teslas is "completely self-sufficient" on the road as early as next year. Tesla said the drivers of his current system should always be ready to regain control of the car; the system provides visual and audible alerts if hands are away from the steering wheel for an extended period. But the company's marketing materials and its forward-looking general manager have been criticized for touting the capabilities of the autopilot, perhaps encouraging drivers to give up more control than it is safe.

After the accident occurred in Mountain View, the company said that she was deeply saddened and that "safety is at the heart of everything we do and every decision we make, so that the loss of a life in an accident involving a Tesla vehicle is difficult for all of us. " "

Autopilot is a semi-automatic system to use when driving on highway. Although Tesla recommends that drivers be ready to regain control, Huang was not the first person to be killed using it.

There have been multiple accidents, sometimes fatal ones, involving drivers using the autopilot, starting with an accident in Florida in 2016, which killed Joshua Brown, 40 years old. He used the autopilot when his car hit a truck that was passing him on a divided highway near Williston, Florida, which the car system did not detect. Nevertheless, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found no flaws in the technology and took no action against the builder after the conclusion of a six-month investigation in January 2017.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which began investigating the Huang accident, confirmed in a preliminary report that the autopilot was being used at the time of the accident. He also found that his hands had been detected on the steering wheel "for a total of 34 seconds, three times, in the 60 seconds preceding the impact". Despite this, "the vehicle did not detect the driver's hands on the steering wheel six seconds before the accident. "

The federal agency did not say when its final report will be released. The NTSB returned Tesla as a party to the investigation in April 2018, for "publishing investigative information prior to their verification and confirmation."

"Such incomplete information is often the source of speculation and false assumptions about the probable cause of an accident, which is detrimental to the investigative process and the traveling public", said the NTSB.

The case of Sz Hua Huang and others c. Tesla Inc., State of California, no. 19CV346663, filed in California Superior Court, County of Santa Clara