"The accord comes after after the automaker has struck secret settlements in several other cases that blamed defective technology for deadly accidents. Tesla prevailed in two California trials in 2023 over Autopilot crashes, but suffered its first significant setback in July when a federal jury in Miami found the company partially responsible for a fatal collision with a parked SUV and imposed $200 million in punitive damages."
"In the most recently settled case, Benjamin Maldonado and his 15-year-old son Jovani were driving home from a soccer tournament in their Ford Explorer on Interstate I-880 in Alameda County. Traffic was starting to slow, and Maldonado activated his blinker before moving right. Seconds later, his car was struck from behind by a Tesla Model 3 using Autopilot driver-assistance software and Jovani was ejected from the passenger seat and died."
"Before Impact Data from the Tesla shows that, in the moments before impact, the driver did not have his hands on the steering wheel and was traveling approximately 70 miles (113 kilometers) per hour, according to the lawsuit filed by the Maldonados. The family claims defects in the Tesla's driver-assistance software caused the car to fail to react to conditions on the roadway."
Tesla reached a confidential settlement with the family of a teenager killed in a 2019 California crash involving a Model 3 on Autopilot. A trial was scheduled to start in about a month in Alameda County Superior Court. The accord follows other secret settlements in cases blaming defective technology for deadly accidents. Tesla prevailed in two California trials in 2023 over Autopilot crashes but faced a July federal jury finding in Miami that held the company partially responsible for a fatal collision and imposed $200 million in punitive damages. The Maldonados allege software defects, misrepresentation of capabilities, and missing driver-warning safeguards.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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