A Florida jury found electric car maker Tesla 1% negligent in the death of an 18-year-old whose Model S sedan crashed into a concrete wall after the vehicle’s speed limiter was deactivated.
The teenager and his father, according to the jury, were 99% guilty.
Monday’s verdict handed down by a federal jury in Fort Lauderdale came in what lawyers for James and Jenny Riley, parents of Barrett, who died in the incident, called the first trial against Tesla for an accident involving their vehicles.
Barrett Riley was driving at 187 kilometers per hour, around a curve with a speed limit of 40 kilometers per hour, on May 8, 2018, when he lost control of his 2014 Model S while trying to overtake another vehicle, causing a fire.
Another passenger also died, while a third occupant survived.
Riley’s parents said the accident occurred after a Tesla technician, unbeknownst to them, disabled a device that had been installed at their request and that limited the Model S’s speed to 137 kilometers per hour.
The jury said Tesla was 1% negligent, while Barrett Riley was 90% negligent, James Riley 9% negligent and Jenny Riley not negligent in the death of her son.
The jury said James and Jenny Riley will respectively receive $4.5 million and $6 million in damages for the pain and suffering caused, which the judge can reduce based on negligence findings.
Tesla’s lawyers did not immediately respond on Tuesday to requests for comment.
Tesla, led by billionaire businessman Elon Musk, had said that Barrett Riley’s recklessness caused the accident, and his parents should have taken the keys from his possession after a speeding ticket in March 2018 for driving 180 kilometers per hour. hour. The automaker also claimed that Barrett Riley tricked the technician into disabling the speed limiter.
Barrett’s parents said a design defect in the lithium-ion battery cells and the Tesla battery contributed to the fire, but a judge dismissed that claim on June 29.
In a statement, Curtis Miner, attorney for the Rileys, said he was pleased with the negligence ruling and hoped the case would help prevent further accidents and save lives.
Tesla has faced a variety of lawsuits and regulatory investigations over accidents linked to its autopilot feature. The tool was not under discussion in Barrett Riley’s accident, court records show.
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