Sz Huang et al vs Tesla Inc. et al

Case Background

Plaintiff Sz Hua Huang filed the Tesla Autopilot crash lawsuit on April 26, 2019. She did so individually and as successor in interest to Wei Lun, Deceased. The lawsuit was filed in the California State Superior Court of Santa Clara County (Case number: 19CV346663). Judge Lori E. Pegg presided over the case.

Cause

On March 23, 2018, at approximately 9:27 AM, Walter Huang was driving his 2017 Tesla Model X southbound on US Highway 101 in Mountain View, California. Huang had purchased the vehicle in October-November 2017. As he approached the interchange with State Highway 85, Huang was using the Tesla's Autopilot features, including "traffic-aware cruise control" and "autosteer lane-keeping assistance." As the vehicle neared the paved gore area dividing the main travel lanes of US-101 from the SH-85 exit ramp, the Autopilot system steered the vehicle out of its lane. It then accelerated directly into a concrete highway median barrier. The crash attenuator guard at the barrier had been damaged in a previous collision over 11 days prior. The State of California had not repaired it. This critical safety feature was designed to dissipate crash energy and reduce impact forces in the event of a collision. Huang's Tesla collided with the unprotected concrete barrier at approximately 70 mph. The complaint alleges that Tesla's Autopilot system failed to detect the barrier and that the vehicle lacked an effective automatic emergency braking system to prevent or mitigate the collision.

Injuries

Walter Huang sustained severe, fatal injuries when his Tesla Model X collided with the concrete median barrier at high speed. While the complaint does not provide specific medical details about his injuries, it states that Huang suffered fatal bodily injuries in the collision. He was pulled from the vehicle and transp