As Tesla Crash Victim's Family Hires Lawyer, Automaker Places Blame on Driver

Tesla could soon find itself on the receiving end of a wrongful death lawsuit. The family of Walter Huang, the driver of a Tesla Model X that crashed into a concrete highway divider in Mountain View, California in March, has sought out the assistance of a law firm to “explore legal options.”

The crash occurred as the vehicle travelled along US-101 in Autopilot mode. Tesla released two statements following the fatal wreck, divulging that the driver had not touched the steering wheel in the six seconds prior to impact. While company claims the responsibility for the crash rests on the driver, law firm Minami Tamaki LLP faults Tesla’s semi-autonomous Autopilot system for the death.

In a blog post, the firm writes that a “preliminary review has uncovered complaints by other Tesla drivers of navigational errors by the Autopilot feature, and other lawsuits have also made this complaint. The firm believes Tesla’s Autopilot feature is defective and likely caused Huang’s death, despite Tesla’s apparent attempt to blame the victim of this terrible tragedy.”

The family intends to file a wrongful death suit, the law firm claims.

In response to news reports of Huang’s family hiring legal aid, Tesla released a statement (via Bloomberg). The message claims there was no broken promise — that the victim knew his Autopilot system was not perfect, and that the system itself warned the driver to take back the wheel. Following a deadly 2016 Autopilot crash in Florida, Tesla pumped up the messaging around Autopilot, making it clearer than before that the system las limits.

From Tesla’s statement:

According to the family, Mr. Huang was well aware that Autopilot was not perfect

Minami Tamaki claims its preliminary review “indicates that the navigation system of the Tesla may have misread the lane lines on the roadway, failed to detect the concrete median, failed to brake the car, and drove the car into the median.”

The law firm notes that the concrete highway median was “missing its crash attenuator guard, as Caltrans failed to replace the guard after an earlier crash there. The lack of a guard potentially increased Huang’s injuries.”

Huang’s family said he complained to Tesla that his vehicle behaved strangely while driving in Autopilot mode along that stretch of highway, and that the vehicle attempting to drive off the road. Tesla claims Huang’s complaint related to a navigation issue. Following the crash, a Tesla owner who travels that same stretch on his way to work released a video showing his car steering towards the concrete divider while in Autopilot mode. The vehicle seemed to follow the wrong painted line while approaching the divider, placing it on a collision course.

Both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have opened investigations into the crash.

[Image: Tesla]