A driverless or self-driving car does not need a human driver's engaged attention or control. Autonomous vehicles have the potential to enhance safety. However, they could cause car accidents and other injuries if they do not function properly. Even if a vehicle is autonomous or self-driving, it has no room for driver error.

The question arises in driverless vehicle accidents: who is responsible or liable in a driverless car accident lawsuit? Is it the vehicle manufacturer, the driver, or another party?

Driverless Vehicles Are Becoming More Common

Autonomous vehicles have become more prevalent in California. This has led to increased accidents involving autonomous vehicles. Identifying the liable party when a pedestrian or other driver sustains injuries in a driverless car accident can be challenging. You can seek compensation under the product liability laws if you suffer injuries due to a defective driverless vehicle. You could also file a personal injury lawsuit against the company behind the autonomous vehicle to recover compensation for your injuries. If a driver was on autopilot mode during the accident, the driver could be liable for the injuries sustained.

California’s Driverless Vehicles Regulations

Autonomous vehicles with no driver are illegal in California. Driverless cars are still under testing on California roads and must have a driver at the wheel. However, even with the driver still in the testing phase, pedestrians and other drivers suffer injuries and die in driverless vehicle accidents.

The California Vehicle Code 38750 outlines many laws that govern driverless vehicles and gives information about who should be behind the wheel. A driver should be in the driver's seat, monitoring the safe operation of the autonomous vehicle. In the event of an emergency or an autonomous technology failure, the driver should be able to take immediate action.

The Reasons Why Driverless Vehicles Crash

Determining the cause of a driverless car accident helps your attorney identify the potential defendant. Identifying the accident's cause lets you and your attorney identify all the parties that should compensate you for your damages.

Some of the leading causes of accidents involving driverless vehicles are:

Failing to Identify Obstacles

Driverless vehicle technology relies on sensors to identify road conditions, obstructions, and weather conditions. They also sense stop signs and the direction and speed of other vehicles. However, excessive traffic, hazardous weather, deteriorated road signs, or faulty vehicle tags could prevent the sensors from working as they should, making self-driving vehicles less efficient. For this reason, the California driverless vehicle law is not fond of the term autopilot but prefers a human driver to enhance safety.

Machine Learning Issues

Driverless vehicle technologies are still in their infancy. Thus, the vehicles can fail to respond appropriately in the face of an unforeseen event. Even with the fast improvement in AI technology and machine learning, it is still possible to be involved in a driverless car accident in California.

Driver Negligence

Most self-driving vehicles have human drivers who should react quickly in case of unforeseen circumstances. An accident can occur if a self-driving car fails and the driver is reckless or distracted.

Defective Design or Manufacturing Issues

Something could go wrong in the manufacturing, parts assembly, creation of product manuals, or product design of autonomous vehicles. Autonomous vehicles require close inspection and monitoring to ensure everything works as it should. When an accident occurs, your personal injury attorney will consider all factors to identify the negligent parties.

Establishing Fault in a Driverless Car Accident

The liable party in a partially autonomous or driverless vehicle accident depends on several factors, including whether only one or several vehicles violated traffic laws, thus causing the accident. Any of the following parties could be liable in an accident involving an autonomous car:

  • The company that manufactured or designed the driverless car.
  • The operator who was behind the wheel in a semi or partially autonomous vehicle.
  • The driver or a regular vehicle is involved in an accident with the driverless car.

Usually, several parties could be liable in a driverless vehicle accident. If several parties are responsible for causing an autonomous vehicle accident, the judge/jury will decide the percentage to which each party is liable, with the extent of liability for all the parties involved adding up to 100%.

You can still recover partial compensation even if you are partially to blame for the driverless car accident. You can recover compensation under the comparative fault laws. Usually, the fault in a car accident is based on negligence. Motorists owe other road users, including other motorists and pedestrians, a duty of care. The driver must exercise reasonable care when driving to avoid injury to other road users. The law requires drivers to look out for the following:

  • Pedestrians.
  • Other vehicles.
  • Other obstacles.

A driver is negligent under California law if he/she fails to use reasonable care and causes an accident. If you are a victim of a driverless car accident, you must prove the following to recover compensation:

  • The defendant owed you a duty of care.
  • The defendant did not honor this duty of care but instead acted negligently.
  • The defendant’s negligence played a significant role in causing you harm or damages.

The defendant will be liable for your injuries if found guilty by the judge or jury.

When The Operator Of A Partially Autonomous Vehicle Is Responsible For An Accident

Most self-driving vehicles still have human drivers. The cars operate under pilot programs, but an operator or a human test driver takes immediate control in an emergency. Under California law, an operator is any person who occupies the driver's seat. If no human driver is present in the driverless vehicle, the operator is the party that causes the autonomous car technology to engage.

The California Vehicle Code 38750 requires all driverless vehicles to have a safety alert system that alerts the operator if any technology failure in the autonomous vehicle is detected. The operator must also be capable of taking full control of the car, including using the:

  • Accelerator.
  • Brakes.
  • Steering wheel.

The test driver could be to blame in a driverless vehicle accident for failing to take control of the vehicle in the face of an emergency. The test driver could also be liable if he/she takes control of the car but does something that causes the vehicle to cause an accident. If the test driver fails to use the self-driving mode or overrides the driverless mode, the test driver operates the car like any other standard vehicle.

However, recently, there have been many applications for fully driverless vehicles. These permits allow driverless cars with human drivers, brake and gas pedals, mirrors, or steering wheels. Some cars, especially the Tesla models, have an autopilot system. The driver can switch to the autopilot system, considered a self-driving mode, but the driver must be capable of controlling the vehicle in case of an accident. Tesla clearly outlines that when using autopilot mode, a driver must still be alert, active, and ready to act immediately in case of an emergency.

When The Driver Of A Regular / Non-driverless Vehicle Causes An Accident

Sometimes, a regular or non-driverless vehicle driver could be liable for failing to use reasonable care when driving. In this case, the standard vehicle driver could be responsible for the accident. The driver could be liable even if the crash involved a vehicle in self-driving mode. While on the road, drivers must watch out for pedestrians, other cars, including autonomous vehicles, and obstacles on the road. Drivers also must control their vehicles' speed and movement. Failing to use reasonable care when driving and causing an accident, as a result, could lead to liability.

A driver can be negligent in several ways, including:

  • Engaging in road rage.
  • Speeding.
  • Failing to yield.
  • Failing to stop at a traffic signal.
  • Drunk driving.
  • Distracted driving.
  • Operating a vehicle with broken brake lights.

When The Autonomous Vehicle Company Is Responsible For The Accident

The autonomous vehicle company could be liable in a driverless vehicle accident if the accident occurred due to vehicle defects, including:

  • System failures.
  • Software bug.
  • The failure of the vehicle operator to take control in the face of an emergency.

Autonomous vehicle systems use cameras, radar, sensors, and robust computer programs to operate vehicles, including braking, speed control, and steering. Many companies test self-driving cars. They include:

  • Tesla.
  • Google (Waymo).
  • Uber.
  • General Motors.

Any party in charge of designing, manufacturing, or selling a defective product could be liable if the product causes injuries. Therefore, if you suffer injuries due to an accident caused by a defective driverless vehicle, you don't have to show that the vehicle manufacturer was negligent when producing the product. You only need to prove that:

  • The product (in this case, the driverless vehicle) was dangerous.
  • The product caused the accident.

The self-driving vehicle manufacturer could be liable under the California product liability laws if the driverless vehicle had any of these defects:

  • Design defects.
  • Manufacturing defects.
  • Failure to warn of defects.

Whether Driverless Vehicles Are Safe

Just like regular vehicles, driverless vehicles are also prone to accidents. Vehicle collisions involving driverless cars can cause severe accidents or even death. Only a tiny percentage of people use autonomous vehicles in California. They only form a small portion of the cars on the road.

thus the low number of accidents involving driverless vehicles.

However, there are still instances of self-driving vehicle accidents, some with fatalities, even with the few driverless vehicles on the roads. Several accidents and near-misses have involved vehicles in semi-autonomous or autonomous modes. Therefore, autonomous vehicles are just as risky as regular vehicles. They can cause severe vehicle accidents or injure other road users, including pedestrians and cyclists.

Proving The Liable Party In A Driverless Car Accident

Like with other vehicle accidents, the liable party or parties in a driverless vehicle accident will likely not be willing to admit fault. Each party will have a different story about what caused the accident. Determining fault in accidents involving self-driving vehicles is often complicated because it is often unclear whether the self-driving vehicle system or its software caused the accident.

In disputed vehicle accidents, insurance companies investigate each party's lawyer. Experts often review the accident evidence in a self-driving vehicle accident to determine what caused the accident. Your personal injury lawyer can involve experts, including engineers, to investigate the case and provide expert opinions regarding the accident's cause. The expert can also testify in court and explain their opinion or findings to the jury.

Given the complexity of driverless vehicle accidents, you should not try to seek compensation on your own if you suffer injuries in the accident. It is best to involve an experienced personal injury attorney to help you establish fault. An attorney will bring in experts, if necessary, to determine the exact cause of your accident. With an attorney by your side, the insurance company will not take advantage of you. You will have a higher chance of receiving the compensation you deserve.

Driverless Vehicle Accidents And Insurance Claims

Seeking compensation for damages sustained in a driverless vehicle accident is more complicated than accidents involving regular vehicles. Insurance claims can get complicated. Insurance coverage seeks to protect a driver in the event of an accident.

What would happen when an accident occurs and the vehicle that caused the accident has no driver?

It would be challenging to establish liability. The use of autonomous vehicles has seen an increase in liability issues.

You could wonder whether the compensation you receive in a driverless car accident is like that in a regular vehicle crash. In both driverless and regular vehicle accidents, the money you will receive after winning the lawsuit or settling is computed similarly. In either case, you will receive economic and non-economic damages. You could also receive punitive damages in cases involving reckless or egregious circumstances.

When determining liability, all the parties that breached their duty of care will be responsible for compensating the victim. The only difference is that driverless vehicle accidents have added complications when filing a personal injury claim.

What You Should Do After An Autonomous Vehicle Accident

After being involved in an autonomous vehicle accident, you should collect all the necessary evidence to support your claim. Your actions after the accident will determine your ability to seek compensation. You should take these steps:

  • Call 911.
  • Take photos of the accident scene.
  • Talk to witnesses at the accident scene and note down their contact information.
  • Exchange contact information with any other party involved in the accident.
  • Seek medical attention and have your medical results documented.
  • Do not repair your damaged vehicle or other damaged property to enable you to seek compensation.
  • Contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.

The Compensation You Can Receive After Suffering Injuries In A Driverless Car Accident

You can file a claim for damages after being involved in a driverless vehicle accident. You can seek compensatory damages that include economic and non-economic damages. The compensation seeks to restore your well-being and put you back in the position you were in before the accident occurred. Some of the damages that you can recover from a driverless car accident include the following:

  • Medical treatment.
  • Lost income.
  • Loss of future earning capacity.
  • Vehicle Damage.
  • Pain and suffering.
  • Rehabilitation and physical therapy.
  • Court costs.
  • Future medical treatment.
  • Loss of limb.
  • Emotional distress.
  • Loss of enjoyment of life.
  • Loss of consortium.

The court can also award punitive damages. Punitive damages are also known as exemplary damages. Typically, the court awards exemplary damages in cases where the defendant engages in extremely reckless behavior. The court will likely not award punitive damages if the defendant engaged in ordinary negligence. You could receive punitive damages if the defendant's actions were:

  • Oppressive.
  • Malicious.
  • Fraudulent.
  • Extremely reckless.
  • Intentional.

Your attorney can seek the help of an accident reconstruction expert to determine the cause of the collision and whether the defendant's conduct or action qualifies as reckless.

If The Victim Of A Driverless Car Accident Dies

The surviving family members can file a wrongful death claim if the victim dies. This enables them to hold the responsible individuals liable for their negligent actions. Under California law, only specific family members qualify to file a wrongful death claim. They include:

  • The victim’s spouse.
  • Domestic partner.
  • Children.
  • Grandchildren.
  • Any other person who is entitled to the deceased person's property.

Upon filing a wrongful death claim, you can receive compensation for the losses incurred:

  • Funeral costs.
  • Burial costs.
  • Loss of support.
  • Loss of financial support that you would have received from the deceased.
  • Loss of companionship.
  • Loss of affection.

Find A San Diego Personal Injury Attorney Near Me

When you suffer injuries in a driverless vehicle accident, the compensation you receive will greatly depend on the lawyer you choose to represent you. You need a lawyer with vast experience handling cases involving autonomous vehicles. At the San Diego Personal Injury Law Firm, we have extensive experience handling cases involving autonomous vehicles. Our attorneys will help you seek the compensation that you deserve. Call us today at 619-478-4059 to speak to one of our attorneys.