Who Can You Sue For A Personal Injury Caused By A Self-Driving Car?

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Self-driving cars used to be a futuristic concept for cartoons and science fiction novels. Now, they are almost a reality.

Many car models on the road today have self-operating elements, although a fully self-operating car is not yet on the open market. The legal implications of self-driving cars are numerous, but the law is still ambiguous, which raises a number of questions about the laws surrounding self-driving vehicles and accidents, including:

  • What happens if you get hurt in an accident and one of the factors was the car’s own operating system? Who do you sue-the driver, the company or both?
  • When you purchase a car with self-driving elements, are you automatically assuming liability for anything that happens while you are technically still “behind the wheel?”

Potentially.

Additionally, if the technology was truly at fault, someone else could be liable, but it is difficult to immediately determine who.

  • Is it the car company itself with its patents and army of lawyers?
  • Is it the manufacturing plant that assembled the vehicle?
  • Is it the developer of the self-operating software?

If you find yourself injured because of self-driving car technology, you may have more options than you think. The law regarding this technology is still underdeveloped and is, therefore, much more fluid. Your case could even set a precedent that could help someone else someday.

To learn about your legal options following a car accident involving a self-driving car, please contact Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner in Houston at (713) 222-7211.