If you spend any time on San Francisco roadways, you’ve seen an odd sight: cars driving with no humans inside.
These are driverless cars, usually owned by Waymo (a Google subsidiary) or Cruise (owned by General Motors).
Recently we all got a chuckle when one of these cars failed to detect freshly poured wet concrete and drove right into the quagmire.
It was not so funny when a Cruise vehicle failed to stop for a fire truck responding to an emergency and was T-boned, injuring the occupant of the car.
What are your remedies if you get injured by one of these driverless cars? You will have an excellent cause of action for strict product liability.
In California, a product, such as a driverless car, is defective if it fails to perform as safely as a reasonable consumer would expect.
This is known as the consumer expectations test and is a bedrock principle of California product liability law.
For more about product liability law, see my article:
https://plaintiffmagazine.com/images/issues/2019/07-july/reprints/Geerhart_Can-a-smaller-firm-handle-a-products-liability-case_Plaintiff-magazine.pdf
So if you are a passenger and the Waymo or Cruise car does anything wrong, such as failing to detect a fire truck coming, you will have a good personal injury claim against the driverless car company, which is well insured and a “deep pocket.”
You can claim medical costs, wage loss, and pain and suffering/emotional distress related to your personal injury.
How We Can Help You
If you are a passenger in another vehicle and are struck by a Waymo or Cruise car, the question will be whether your car or the driverless car (or both) violated the vehicle code.
If both vehicles are at fault, you might have to sue both the driver of the car you were in and Waymo/Cruise.
Contact the Law Office of Chuck Geerhart to discuss your legal options after an accident with or in a driverless car. Call today!