• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • Your Membership
    • Edit Your Profile
  • Services
    • Advertising
    • Case studies
    • Design
    • Email marketing
    • Lead generation
    • Magazine
    • Press releases
    • Publishing
    • Sponsored posts
    • Webcasting
    • Webinars
    • White papers
    • Writing
  • Shop
    • My Account
    • Cart
  • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy
    • Terms of use
  • Events

Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

  • News
  • Features
  • Video
  • Webinars
  • White papers
  • Press releases
  • Featured companies
    • AMD Xilinx
    • BlueBotics
    • Elite Robot
    • RGo Robotics
    • SICK Sensor Intelligence
    • Vicor Power

What You Need to Know About Liability in Self-Driving Car Accidents

March 18, 2023 by Mark Allinson Leave a Comment

Taking the world by storm, self-driving cars have been all the rage ever since they hit the market. Their advanced technology and superior design have also significantly contributed to their popularity.

However, as much as self-driving cars seem like something out of a science fiction movie, these dreamy vehicles are not perfect.

With car accidents being one of the most common personal injury claims, driverless vehicles now bring new complications to already challenging auto accident lawsuits.

If you or a loved one has incurred damages due to driverless cars, contacting a self-driving car accident lawyer is important to seek compensation.

Since self-driving accidents are relatively new claims, this article briefly discusses the factors that play a major role in determining liability.

Negligence In Personal Injury

Before proceeding with the nitty-gritty of liability, it is important to understand the basic principles of personal injury law.

In essence, personal injury refers to damage or harm sustained due to negligence or misconduct of another individual.

That is why establishing negligence and proving a breach of duty are important considerations in personal injury lawsuits.

In order to establish negligence and seek compensation, victims must:

  • Prove the defendant owed them a duty of care
  • The duty of care as breached by the defendant
  • The injury sustained was caused by a breach of duty
  • The victim has incurred damages due to the breach

If victims successfully establish that the defendant owed them a duty of care and breached the said duty, they are entitled to compensation. By extension, the breach of duty makes the defendant liable and responsible for the damages.

The Question Of Liability

As a legal theory, personal injury claims rely on negligence to determine liability and recover compensation for victims. But with no driver in the picture, clearly establishing negligence and liability can be difficult.

While liability would depend on the specifics of each case, in general, the following actors can be held responsible for self-driving accidents.

Human Operator

An important aspect to note about self-driving cars is that they are not entirely driverless. In any case, a human operator is always behind the wheel navigating basic operations.

Additionally, driverless cars come with different levels of automation, with each level outlining the degree of autonomy of drivers.

In this regard, human operators in driverless cars play a very important role. They are responsible for ensuring the vehicle operates appropriately and intervene in case of malfunction.

Liability for the accident may fall on the human driver if they are found to be reckless or if the accident was avoidable with human intervention.

Vehicle Manufacturers

Several self-driving car accident investigations have uncovered underlying manufacturing defects as the cause of the accident.

Mechanical issues like brake failures or other malfunctions can be key factors contributing to a car crash. In such scenarios, despite having considerable manual control, human operators may be unable to prevent an accident.

If your self-driving car accident was caused due to mechanical problems, you could seek compensation through a manufacturer or product liability claims.

However, those injured in the crash would be required to prove manufacturing defects caused the accident.

Technology Designer

Not all vehicle defects can be attributed to the manufacturer. In most cases, manufacturers can only be held accountable for accidents caused by faulty parts. If technological defects caused the crash, those responsible for designing it would be liable for compensation.

This is an important distinction since more driverless cars operate through advanced software and sensors. The technological advantage algorithms have over human decision-making also plays a role here.

Software designers would also be responsible for manual control issues arising from faulty software or programming.

Final Thoughts

Although there are provisions to determine liability in self-driving car accidents, it is important to note these are still relatively new claims.

This means determining liability is more complex than in other motor vehicle accidents. Victims may also have to share comparative negligence in some instances due to a lack of clear evidence.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Skype
  • WhatsApp
  • Telegram
  • Pocket

You might also like…

Filed Under: Autonomous vehicles Tagged With: accident, accidents, breach, car, cars, caused, claims, compensation, defendant, driverless, duty, human, injury, liability, negligence, personal, responsible, self-driving, victims

Join the Robotics & Automation News community

Reader Interactions

You must log in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest articles

  • Top Benefits of Using Automation in Your Business
  • The Future of Colocation Hosting and How it is Evolving to Meet Changing Business Needs
  • The Role of Technology in the Evolution of Partial Truckload shipping
  • The fastest way to recover from ransomware
  • Factory Visit: Investment bankers tour client’s robot-filled machine shop
  • Hengbot unveils ‘world’s first robotic dog with musculoskeletal limbs’
  • AutomationWare prepares for future with new robotic joints
  • RoboUP launches ‘the most intelligent and precise robotic lawn mower ever created’
  • Switzerland’s IAR Group establishes new subsidiary in Germany
  • Techman unveils ‘industry’s lightest high-payload AI collaborative robot’

Most Read

  • Hengbot unveils ‘world’s first robotic dog with musculoskeletal limbs’
    Hengbot unveils ‘world’s first robotic dog with musculoskeletal limbs’
  • Top 20 electric vehicle charging station companies
    Top 20 electric vehicle charging station companies
  • Stiga launches ‘world’s smartest’ autonomous lawn mower
    Stiga launches ‘world’s smartest’ autonomous lawn mower
  • Difference Between Three-Phase and Single-Phase Power
    Difference Between Three-Phase and Single-Phase Power
  • Top 20 programmable logic controller manufacturers
    Top 20 programmable logic controller manufacturers
  • Scientists have found more water in space than they ever knew possible
    Scientists have found more water in space than they ever knew possible
  • Factory Visit: Investment bankers tour client’s robot-filled machine shop
    Factory Visit: Investment bankers tour client’s robot-filled machine shop
  • How to Know if Your iPhone is Being Tracked? Check This!
    How to Know if Your iPhone is Being Tracked? Check This!
  • Best Fat Tire Electric Bike: The Ultimate All-Terrain Companion
    Best Fat Tire Electric Bike: The Ultimate All-Terrain Companion
  • What You Need to Know About Fixing an Engine Misfire
    What You Need to Know About Fixing an Engine Misfire

Overused words

ai applications automated automation automotive autonomous business companies company control customers data design development digital electric global industrial industry logistics machine manufacturing market mobile operations platform process production robot robotic robotics robots safety software solution solutions system systems technologies technology time vehicle vehicles warehouse work

Secondary Sidebar

Latest news

  • Top Benefits of Using Automation in Your Business
  • The Future of Colocation Hosting and How it is Evolving to Meet Changing Business Needs
  • The Role of Technology in the Evolution of Partial Truckload shipping
  • The fastest way to recover from ransomware
  • Factory Visit: Investment bankers tour client’s robot-filled machine shop
  • Hengbot unveils ‘world’s first robotic dog with musculoskeletal limbs’
  • AutomationWare prepares for future with new robotic joints
  • RoboUP launches ‘the most intelligent and precise robotic lawn mower ever created’
  • Switzerland’s IAR Group establishes new subsidiary in Germany
  • Techman unveils ‘industry’s lightest high-payload AI collaborative robot’

Footer

We are…

Robotics and Automation News was established in May, 2015, and is now one of the most widely-read websites in its category.

Please consider supporting us by becoming a paying subscriber, or through advertising and sponsorships, or by purchasing products and services through our shop – or a combination of all of the above.

Thank you.

Independent

Archivists

March 2023
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Feb    

Complex

Old-skool

This website and its associated magazine, and weekly newsletter, are all produced by a small team of experienced journalists and media professionals.

If you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to contact us at any of the email addresses on our contact page.

We’d be happy to hear from you, and will always reply as soon as possible.

Future-facing

Free, fair and legal

We support the principles of net neutrality and equal opportunities.

Member of The Internet Defense League

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT