What We’re Reading

June 8, 2022

On the Road to Level 3: Paradigm Shift in Auto Crash Fault Assessments (Carrier Management, June 7, 2022)

This week we’re reading our own thoughts—published in this month’s Carrier Management—on Mercedes Benz’s recently-reported commitment to accept liability for Level 3 failures.  We conclude that Mercedes and other OEM’s commitments are significant. Among other things, the commitments “reflect an awareness by manufacturers that advanced automotive technologies themselves can advance liability determinations. Connected and autonomous cars generate vast amounts of data during normal use and at trigger events, and that data can be used to objectively determine fault in the event of an accident. . . .  In the face of this objective data, the at-fault party will be hard-pressed to deny liability, including if that party is the manufacturer.”

Give it a read and let us know what you think. 

Mike Nelson (nelson@nelson.legal) and Stephanie Niehaus (stephanie@nelson.legal)