Your car practically drives itself these days—until it doesn't. One moment, you're marveling at the latest self-driving features. Next, you're facing life-changing injuries because the technology failed. When autonomous and semi-autonomous systems make devastating mistakes, who's responsible for the harm?
With decades of experience protecting the rights of injury victims, the Law Office of Matthew A. Lathrop is well-equipped to take on cases involving the most advanced transportation technologies. Omaha injury lawyer Matt Lathrop and his team tirelessly advocate for clients whose lives have been upended by autonomous vehicle crashes, investigating every potential cause and contributor to secure maximum compensation.
What Makes Self-Driving Car Accident Claims So Challenging?
Determining liability in any car accident can be complicated. But when an autonomous driving system is involved, the legal issues multiply fast:
- Multiple potential defendants. At-fault parties could include vehicle owners, car manufacturers, software developers, and more.
- Uncharted legal territory. Courts and lawmakers are still catching up to this rapidly evolving technology—and its implications for liability.
- Catastrophic injuries. The forces in motor vehicle accidents often result in serious injuries with lifelong consequences for victims.
Liability and Autonomous Vehicles
Currently, autonomous vehicle claims often focus on whether the human driver or robotic system was primarily at fault. For example, did the driver fail to pay attention and take control when needed, or did the self-driving software fail to recognize a hazard and brake in time?
But as the technology advances, other liability theories will likely emerge:
- Negligent design by car manufacturers or software developers
- Failures to warn about limitations or flaws in the self-driving systems
- Inadequate safety oversight by federal and state regulators
- Intentional concealment of known dangers by vehicle and technology companies
Why You Need an Injury Attorney for Driverless Vehicle Crashes
An experienced car accident lawyer will investigate the unique factors in self-driving accidents:
- Uncover design and manufacturing defects that may have led to system failures, such as faulty sensors, flawed algorithms, or inadequate safety controls
- Determine whether inadequate testing or deceptive marketing of self-driving features contributed to the crash, making vehicle owners believe they could rely on the technology more than they should
- Identify all parties who may share responsibility, from software developers to car companies to third-party technology providers—and determine how liability is distributed among them
- Calculate lifetime costs of catastrophic injuries to demand maximum available compensation for the victim's pain, suffering, lost earnings, future care needs, and more
The Safety of Self-Driving Vehicles
Despite what marketers want you to believe, even the most advanced driver assistance technologies still demand human oversight and control. Treating any vehicle as fully autonomous sets the stage for tragedy when the self-driving systems inevitably fail.
Believing the technology is flawless endangers vehicle occupants and puts pedestrians, cyclists, and others sharing the road at risk. Self-driving systems are known to struggle with detecting smaller moving objects and predicting the behaviors of vulnerable road users.
How Nebraska Law Affects Self-Driving Car Accident Claims
Like many states, Nebraska has enacted laws to address the arrival of autonomous vehicles on public roads. Although the technology is still in its early stages, these initial statutes provide essential guidelines for injury claims.
In 2018, Nebraska passed the Automated Driving Systems Act, which:
- Authorizes driverless vehicle testing, so long as the vehicle can achieve a "minimal risk condition" if the automated driving system fails
- Requires self-driving test vehicles to be capable of following traffic laws and detecting roadway conditions
- Mandates insurance coverage of at least $5 million for all automated driving system test vehicles
The law also clarifies that ordinary rules of vehicle insurance, accident liability, and injury claims will apply to driverless cars as the technology is deployed for public use.
Exploring Your Legal Options After a Self-Driving Car Accident
Catastrophic accident claims involving self-driving vehicles require aggressive investigation to identify cutting-edge liability issues and confront some of the world's most powerful transportation and technology companies. An experienced Omaha injury attorney can analyze the facts of your case under Nebraska's evolving self-driving vehicle laws.
At the Law Office of Matthew A. Lathrop, we're committed to understanding this cutting-edge legal landscape—and leveraging it to fight for the rights of autonomous vehicle accident victims. We'll review the details of your case, identify all potential sources of compensation, and develop an aggressive strategy for holding reckless companies accountable.
You never expected a convenience feature to threaten your future. Now, as you face devastating losses, an experienced injury lawyer can clarify your rights and fight back against any parties responsible for the technology's failures.
