A $10 million lawsuit was filed against the city of Tempe, Arizona after a woman was killed by an autonomous Uber vehicle. The suit states that the Arizona suburb created a dangerous situation by installing a brick pathway across the median where people were not allowed to cross the road. Essentially, city officials paved a walkway for jaywalkers. The suit seeks $5 million in damages each for the surviving husband and daughter of the 49-year-old woman killed in the collision. While the city’s spokesperson could not comment directly on the case, she has stated that the suburb has since landscaped the median in place of the walkway.
The Arizona Republic reports that this was the first person in the USA to be struck and killed by a self-driving car. The Uber vehicle had a human driver in the vehicle at the time of the incident. The backup driver, Rafaela Vasquez, had placed the Uber vehicle in auto-drive mode and was streaming the TV show “The Voice” when the Uber vehicle struck and ultimately killed the pedestrian. The surviving family members have already reached a confidential settlement with Uber and are now proceeding forward against Tempe.
Claims such as this serve as a precursor to future lawsuits. If you or someone you know has been injured in an Uber or Lyft motor vehicle accident, contact an attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling (713) 222-7211 or toll free at 713-222-7211.