Self-Driving Car Accident Lawyers

As More Cars Boast of “Autopilot” Features, Motorists May Face Danger from Unproven Technology and Negligent Drivers

At The Gilbert Law Group®, our innovative nature makes us the ideal firm to tackle big legal questions surrounding technological advances. We pioneered the practice of having an in-house engineering team to support our product liability claims, and we’ve premiered groundbreaking technology in courts to help the judge and jury better understand our arguments. With an experienced, technical team and extensive resources on our side, we are capable of handling difficult claims like self-driving car accidents.

Though the low number of self-driving cars on the road has resulted in relatively few accidents thus far, when this technology goes wrong, it can cause serious injuries and even deaths. Anyone who is hit by a self-driving car, whether it is being tested by the company or used by its owner, may have the right to sue for compensation. Bring your case to our experienced attorneys for a free consultation today.

Our Denver lawyers are available at (888) 711-5947 to answer your questions about self-driving car accidents. We have the experience and technical knowledge needed to tackle these complex cases.

The Legal Questions Surrounding Self-Driving Cars

Though true “self-driving” cars are a long way off, vehicle manufacturers and tech firms are teaming up to create vehicles that offer some autonomous capabilities. More than 50 companies have stated their intentions to create such a vehicle. Some of the most prominent companies and carmakers involved are:

• Tesla
• GM Cruise
• Nissan
• Mercedes-Benz
• Toyota
• Honda
• Audi
• Chrysler + Waymo (by Google)
• Jaguar + Waymo
• Ford + Argo AI
• Volkswagen + Argo AI
• Hyundai + Yandex
• Volvo + Uber
• Lyft + Aptiv
• NVIDIA

In most car accidents, one can safely assume no autopilot or other self-driving technology was involved. However, as companies train software to handle more complex situations and manufacture semi-autonomous cars at higher rates, pedestrians, bicyclists, and other drivers will be at an increased risk of getting into an accident with one of these vehicles.

Because self-driving car technology is so new, there are hardly any laws surrounding the testing and performance of such vehicles. That means the first legal cases that address accident liability and victims’ rights will raise tough questions our courts have not had to consider before. Given the amount of money car manufacturers and technology firms have put into creating these vehicles, you can be assured they will also have elite legal teams to defend their interests. Having the right attorney on your side could be a key factor in your success.

How Self-Driving Car Accidents Happen

The promise of autonomous cars is increased road safety. Most vehicle accidents today are caused by driver negligence. If someone has a car that does all the driving for them, it won’t matter if they’re paying attention. The advanced technology inside the vehicle will take care of the complex task of driving without making any of the mistakes or errors in judgment humans are prone to.

This is the vision of the future sold to us by the tech firms and automakers who want to build buzz about upcoming products. However, the current state of self-driving cars shows much more work is needed before they are viable alternatives.

Autonomous cars are run by a host of sensors linked to an intricate computer program—and like any other piece of technology meant to act independently of human input, the first step in making this program work is feeding it a lot of data.

That means self-driving cars need to gain driving experience before they will be able to transport us safely. During testing, human drivers are employed to oversee the car’s operations. However, sometimes their intervention isn’t quick enough to prevent an accident. Other times, the human driver fails to pay attention entirely.

Analyses of fatal accidents involving self-driving/autopilot technologies have found an array of factors at fault for these collisions. They include:

• Driver distraction
• Self-driving/autopilot mode being used in unsupported circumstances/driving conditions
• Failure of driving software to alert drivers who stop focusing on the road
• Sensor failure
• Failure of driving software to properly interpret sensor data
• Technology not performing to expected standards

Technologies as complex as those required to pilot a car will require years of work and testing before they are complete, and some engineers believe fully autonomous vehicles will never exist. Automakers and tech companies eager to sell their cars tend to downplay the risks and may even fail to disclose potential software bugs. A small mistake in the code or an oversight by a product design team can result in a self-driving car acting unpredictably and causing an accident.

Proving Liability in Self-Driving Car Accidents

Analyzing the behaviors and motivations of self-driving cars is likely to be difficult should questions arise after an accident. Companies are extremely protective of their proprietary information, including the code that dictates how a car responds (or fails to respond) to certain data.

Further, the software that governs autonomous driving is likely to be complex and sizeable; even if code is properly notated, outside analysts may struggle to understand commands and interactions within it. Re-creating the circumstances of a crash may be difficult, especially if the company pushes software updates while a claim is under investigation.

Our team is not afraid to take on this kind of technical challenge—in fact, it’s the type of case we’re prepared for. Our internal engineering department has extensive resources we can use to analyze your accident and create tests and models to support your case. As autonomous cars become more common, we will continue to expand our toolset so we can better understand the workings of these vehicles.

We provide free consultations to accident victims in Denver and across the nation. Call (888) 711-5947 if you believe you may have a claim or send us a message to get started.