Many self-driving vehicles are on America’s roads. With this different kind of vehicle out there, the landscape of personal injury claims has also changed.
These vehicles use radar, computer vision, odometry, GPS, and laser vision to navigate around their environment safely. However, despite the detailed design and quality equipment used, things can still go wrong. If something doesn’t work properly or malfunctions, an accident can result.
Because of the complexity of any kind of personal injury claim, and especially a self-driving vehicle accident claim, you should consult with a personal injury attorney if you have been involved in such an accident.
How Negligence Comes into Play
Negligence plays a major role in personal injury claims, and those involving self-driving vehicles are no different. There are four elements to proving negligence. These elements are duty, breach, cause, and damages.
The duty in this case is that when a vehicle is on the road, the driver has a responsibility to act in a manner to protect others from harm. If that duty is breached, such as by running a stop sign or exceeding the speed limit, and it causes an accident, then you must show that the damages that result wouldn’t have occurred if there had not been an accident.
When you can show these steps, you can prove your case. In Arizona, comparative negligence is used for personal injury claims.
Arizona Accident and Insurance Laws
When comparative negligence is used, you can recover damages from the other driver regardless of your percentage of fault for the crash. Even if you were 99% to blame, you could recover the other 1% of damages from the other party.
As an example, if you were determined to be 70% at fault and the self-driving vehicle was 30% at fault, you can file a claim to request 30% of the damages. If your damages were $80,000 and the other driver was 30% at fault, you could recover $24,000 from the other driver’s insurance coverage.
In Arizona, drivers must have auto insurance coverage. If a driver is caught driving without insurance, the first offense penalty is a $500 fine and a three-month suspension of your driver’s license, registration, and license plates. The penalties are greater for repeat offenders.
The state requires drivers to have bodily injury liability coverage in the amount of $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident and a minimum of $10,000 for property damage. If you are charged with driving without insurance, you will be required to provide a SR-22, which will cost you more as well.
Consult With an Arizona Personal Injury Attorney
If you have been involved in an accident with a self-driving vehicle, you should consult with an Arizona personal injury attorney. There is a statute of limitations for pursuing such claims. In Arizona, you have two years to pursue an accident injury claim or you will not be able to recover damages. Complete the Free Case Evaluation Form on this page so you can get your claim on track.
