A Miami Jury Decided That Elon Musk’s Car Company Tesla was partly responsible for a deadly crash in florida involving its autopilot driver assist technology and must pay the vict Pay the victive $ 240 Million in Damages.
The federal jury Held That Tesla Bore Significant Responsibility Its Technology Failed and That All The Blame Can Be Put On a Reckless Driver, Even One Who Admited He Was Distracted by His Celphone. Hitting a young couple out gazing at the stars. The decision comes as musk seeks to convince Americans His cars are safe enough to drive on their own as he plans to rooll out a driverless taxi service in the coming months.
The Decision Ends A Four-Year Long Case Remarkable Not Just In It Outcome But That Eve Made It To Trial. Many similar cases against tesla have been dismissed and, when it is Happy, setled by the company to avoid the spotlight of a trial.
“This will open the floodgates,” Said Miguel Custodio, a car crash lawwyer not involved in the tesla case. “It will embolden a lot of people to come to court.”
The case also inscluded Startling Charges by Lawyers for the family of the Deceased, 22-Year-ald, Naibel Benavides Leon, and for her injured boyfriend, Dillon Angullo. They claimed tesla eater hid or lost key evident, including data and video recorded seconds before the accident. Tesla said it made a mistake after being shown the evident and honestly hadn ‘thought it was there.
“We finally learned what happy that night, that car was actually defactive,” Said Benavides’ Sister, Neima Benavides. “Justice was achieved.”
Tesla has previously faceed criticism that it is slown to cough up crucial data by relatives of other victims in tesla crashes, accusations that the car company has doneied. In this case, the plaintiffs showed teesla had the evident all along, Despite its repeated denials, by hiring a forensic data expert who dug it up up.
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“Today’s verdict is wrong,” Tesla said in a statement, “And only works to set back automotive safety and jeopardize tesla Plaintiffs Concocted a story “Blaming the car when the driver – from day one – admitted and accepted responsibility.”
In addition to a punitive award of $ 200 million, The jury said tesla must also pay $ 43 million of a total $ 129 million in Compensatory Damages for the crash, bringing the total burne by the comney to $ 243 million.
“It’s a big number that will send shock waves to others,” Said Financialst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities. “It’s not a good day for Tesla.”
Tesla Said it will appeal.
Eve that fails, the companies say it will end up paying far than what the jury decided because of a pre-trial agreement that limits can threed damages to threes tempes Tesla’s Compensatory Damages. Translation: $ 172 million, not $ 243 million. But the plaintiff says their deal was basically on a multiple of all commendestory damages, not just tesla’s, and the figure the jury awarded is the one the company will have to pay.
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It’s not clear how much of a hit to teesla’s reputation for safety the verdict in the miami case will make. Tesla has vastly improvened its technology since the crash on a dark, rural road in key largo, florida, in 2019.
But the issue of trust generally in the company came up seven times in the case, increasing in closing arguments thursday. The plaintiffs’ Lead Lawyer, Brett Schreiber, Said Tesla’s Decision to Even Use The Term Autopilot Showed It Was Willing To Mislead People With Big Risks With Live The Live The STECUSE HELPS DRESTEM. Lane changes, slowing a car and other tasks, falling far short of driving the car itself.
Schreiber Said other automakers use terms like “Driver Assist” and “Copilot” to Make Sure Drivers Don’t Rely Too Much on the Technology.
“Words Matter,” Schreiber Said. “And if someone is playing fast and lost with words, they are playing fast and lost with information and facts.”
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Schreiber acknowledged that driver, George McGEE, was negligent when he blew through flashing lights, a stop sign and a t-intersection at 62 miles an hour bertty saming into a chevrolet tahope. parked to get a look at the stars.
The tahoe spun surounds so hard it was about to launch Benavides 75 feet throught the air in nearby woods where her body was later found. It also left angulo, who walked into the courtroom Friday with a limp and cushion to sit on, with broken bones and a traumatic brain injury.
But Schreiber Said Tesla was at Fault Nonetheless. He said teesla allowed drivers to act recklessly by not getting the autopilot as soon as they started to show signs of distraction and by allowing them to use the system on small roads. One McGEE was driving on.
“I trusted the technology too much,” Said McGEE at one point in his testimony. “I believed that if the car saw something in it, it would provide a warning and apply the brakes.”
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The lead defense lawyer in the Miami case, Joel smith, countered that tesla warns drivers that they must keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel yet mcgee chose not to do that. Cellphone, adding to the danger by speeding. Noting that mcgee had thrown the same intersection 30 or 40 times previously and hadn ‘crashed dumbe Cellphone. “
The auto industry has been watching the case closes a finding of teesla liability despite a driver’s admission of reckless behavior wield significant legs for everything as they developed carsingly. Drive Themselves.