injury lawyer Boston

An alleged vehicle defect of the throttle caused a motorist to suffer personal injuries when the car rapidly decelerated without warning, according to a proposed class action lawsuit filed in a federal court in California recently.

The lawsuit further asserts the auto manufacturer, Ford, was aware of this defect for years and failed to warn consumers about it.

Plaintiff asserts that the defective electronic throttle body control systems decelerate both suddenly and unintentionally, causing a potentially fatal error. The design flaw allegedly extends not just to the 2012 Ford Explorer, which is what plaintiff was driving at the time of this reported incident, but also to other models of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles. Rather than own the error and make consumers aware of it, plaintiff says, defendant manufacturer has publicly downplayed the potential danger and has refused to offer to fix the alleged defect or to reimburse vehicle owners for the cost of necessary repairs. Continue reading

Tesla Motors has come under fire in the last year after a series of collisions – one fatal – that involved the use of its Autopilot assisted driving system. The question is whether Tesla improperly deployed and marketed this system, which despite the name still does require substantial involvement from the driver.

The aggressive “beta-test” of its Autopilot self-driving technology forced government regulators to step in, with input from other car manufacturers, to consider how human drivers should interact with increasingly more sophisticated vehicles and whether the advancements were simply too much too soon. A recent analysis by Consumer Reports magazine urged Tesla to disable the automatic steering feature until either the software is updated to require drivers’ hands on the steering wheel or else until no driver involvement is required at all.

CNN reported federal auto safety investigators with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) cleared Tesla of having an inherent vehicle defect resulting in a fatal car accident in Florida in which Autopilot system was engaged, but failed to detect an oncoming white tractor-trailer against the brightness of the mid-day sky. The Autopilot system was built to keep a vehicle in its own lane, and the car is capable of braking on its own. The feature is designed to be used on limited access highways with on- and off-ramps and not, as decedent driver was using it, on roadways where cars or trucks can cross in front of the Tesla. Continue reading

Articles Tagged with injury lawyer Boston

Automaker Sued for Alleged Vehicle Defect of Improper Deceleration

Consumer Reports: Tesla Autopilot Systems Improperly Marketed