BlogLine

Driverless Motor Vehicle Lawsuit – The First of its Kind

2/7/18

By: Courtney K. Mazzio
General Motors is the first manufacturer to be hit with a driverless motor vehicle lawsuit. On December 7, motorcycle driver, Oscar Nilsson, alleges he was attempting to pass a self-automated Chevy Bolt on the right. The Bolt had indicated it was moving into the left hand lane, and according to Nilsson, when the coast was clear, he proceeded in his attempt to pass the Bolt. It was at that point the Bolt swerved back into Nilsson’s lane, knocking Nilsson over. Nilsson did walk to the side of the road, but was complaining of neck and shoulder injuries, which he allegedly treated for extensively and which required him to take disability leave from his job.
However, GM paints quite a different picture, detailing that the self-driving car attempted to merge into the left lane. However, the minivan ahead of it slowed down, and so the self-driving car abandoned the merge attempt. GM maintains it was as the self-driving car was attempting to center itself in the middle lane once again that Nilsson attempted to pass between the self-driving vehicle and a vehicle in the right lane. As he was attempting to make that pass, he hit the side of the self-driving vehicle. Notably, GM reported the self-driving car was keeping with traffic at its speed of 12 miles per hour while the motorcycle was traveling 17 miles per hour, which if proven, could be useful for them in mitigating liability They have also represented that the police report also maintains the company is at fault.
In the analysis swirling around driverless car technology and anticipated lawsuits sure to crop up, there is anticipation that car manufacturers will take the tack of either resolving swiftly when liability is poor or fighting tooth and nail when liability is questionable. The technology of the driverless vehicle no doubt affords car manufacturers the ability to be a bit more dichotomous. We will have to wait and see how this one pans out.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Courtney Mazzio at cmazzio@fmglaw.com.