Tesla Ordered to Pay Over $243 million in Fatal Florida Accident Case
A jury in the United States has ruled that Tesla must pay approximately $243 million (2.4 billion SEK) in fines and damages following a fatal 2019 accident in Key Largo, Florida, involving a vehicle equipped with the company’s automatic driver assistance system. The ruling,reported by The New York Times,assigns significant duty to Tesla for the crash that resulted in the death of a 22-year-old woman and serious injuries to her boyfriend.
The jury found that Tesla’s driver assistance system malfunctioned, contributing to the accident. While the driver, who admitted to being distracted by his phone, had previously reached an undisclosed settlement with the victims’ families, the jury persistent that tesla bears one-third of the liability for the damages.This translates to $200 million in punitive damages and one-third of the $129 million in compensatory damages awarded to the woman’s relatives and her injured boyfriend.
Legal analysts suggest this verdict could pave the way for further lawsuits against Tesla concerning it’s driver assistance technology.
