As self-driving cars increase in popularity, the landscape for personal injury claims has begun to change. If a person is operating a car, then he or she is held responsible for their actions and any negligence. However, there is a difference when a self-driving car is out on the road.
A self-driving vehicle is designed to safely maneuver through the environment and sense its surroundings. It uses odometry, radar, GPS, laser vision, and computer vision to navigate. If something goes wrong, it can cause an accident.
If you have been involved in a self-driving car accident in Florida, you should consult with a personal injury attorney. Your attorney will help you show negligence on the part of the self-driving vehicle and how it did not operate properly.
How Negligence Comes Into Play
Negligence is the key factor to a successful personal injury claim. You must show the four elements of negligence to show that someone was negligent. The four elements are duty, breach, causation, and damages.
In this case, you will have to show that there was a duty of responsibility to act in a specific manner to protect others from harm, that the duty was breached when the vehicle made the error, that the error is what caused the accident, and the injuries and damages resulted from that accident.
Florida uses pure comparative negligence, which means whatever amount were negligent will reduce your settlement by that amount. For example, if you were speeding and the self-driving vehicle ran a stop sign and pulled in front of you, you will be held responsible for exceeding the speed limit.
Florida Accident and Insurance Laws
Pure comparative negligence is used in Florida. This will reduce your settlement by whatever percentage of negligence you were. As an example, if your damages were $100,000 and you were 30% negligent, you can only recover 70% of the damages, or $70,000.
You will have to show what happened and how the other vehicle acted negligently. For example, the other vehicle might have crossed into your lane of traffic and hit you head-on or it might have failed to stop for a traffic signal.
However, your actions will also be considered, and it will be determined if you were doing anything that contributed to the accident as well.
Florida laws require auto insurance coverage. The law requires a minimum of $10,000 personal injury protection and $10,000 property damage liability. If the driver has been involved in a crash or convicted of specific driving offenses, you can be required by the Department of Motor Vehicles to purchase additional coverage, such as bodily injury liability coverage.
It is illegal to drive without insurance in the state, so you can face penalties, including a reinstatement fee for your vehicle registration of $150 up to $500 for subsequent violations. To get your registration reinstated, you must show proof of insurance.
Speak With A Personal Injury Attorney
If you have been involved in an accident with a self-driving vehicle, you should speak with a Florida personal injury attorney. There is a four-year statute of limitations that applies to pursuing an accident injury claim.
