In one of the first-of-its-kind lawsuits in Oregon, a man from the Portland area filed a lawsuit last week saying that Tesla’s automatic system had life-endangering defects when it blew through a stop sign in Clackamas County and T-boned his car.
According to Michael Ward’s lawsuit, when Ngoc Phuong Anh Dinh’s Tesla collided with the passenger side of his vehicle at the junction of Oregon 212 and Southeast Sunnyside Road, he sustained fractures to his face, teeth, and spine. According to the lawsuit, Ward had the right-of-way and was following the traffic flow. His asking price is $745,000.
Notably, the electric car company claims that it still needs drivers to maintain their hands on the steering wheel and their eyes on the road whether utilizing the less popular Full Self-Driving mode or the driver-assistance feature Autopilot. Tesla is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. New Teslas come equipped with autopilot, which enables the vehicle to navigate itself on well indicated roads. Full Self-Driving mode can steer, accelerate, and brake on a variety of roadways, but it costs more.
Dinh is the sole defendant in the complaint filed last week, which alleges that she was partially at blame for her unreasonable reliance on autonomous vehicle technology.
A Tesla with “autonomous vehicle technology” active raced through this stop sign in Clackamas County and T-boned another automobile, according to a complaint filed on November 19, 2024.Maps on Google
A request for comment from Austin, Texas-based Tesla was not answered for this story. Dinh was not available for comment.
According to court documents, the lawsuit is one of four against Tesla for automated driving that have been filed in Oregon and numerous others across the country. As Tesla and other automakers promote self-driving technology as the driving of the future and outfit their cars with the function, the number is only anticipated to rise.
A Washington County man sued a Tesla driver and the automaker in 2021 for $342,000 after the driver said the vehicle abruptly went into autonomous drive mode and began acting strangely before colliding with him on U.S. 26 close to the Murray Boulevard exit in Beaverton. The lawsuit was eventually settled in 2023 for an undisclosed sum, but according to the man’s attorney, the insurance company for the Tesla driver destroyed or disposed of the damaged car before anybody could examine it and determine what had happened.
A former Portland resident, acting on his own behalf, sued Tesla for $250,000 in 2021 when his Model S began acting erratically. He thinks those errors caused his car’s Autopilot function to misjudge the road conditions, causing it to abruptly turn 180 degrees and crash into a barrier after hydroplaning on a section of standing water on the highway. After being kicked out of federal court and assigned to arbitration by Tesla, Ranjan Lamichhane told The Oregonian/OregonLive that he decided to give up on seeking damages because he felt outmatched.
According to Lamichhane, having a Tesla has led to a great deal of agony, misery, and discomfort. He admitted to the news outlet that he currently drives a Subaru.
A Beaverton man filed a fourth lawsuit, which The Oregonian/OregonLive also discovered. He claimed that in April 2024, while his Tesla Model 3 was in Full Self Driving mode, it failed to recognize a curb at the Walker Road Fred Meyer and damaged it by slamming the side of one of its wheels into it. Ameeruddin Shaik filed a lawsuit alleging that Tesla charged him an additional $6,000 for the self-driving capability when he purchased the used car from the firm, on top of the $713 cost of a new wheel.
Shaik explained the reason behind his small claims lawsuit by saying, “I’m not paying $700 for what the car did.”
However, according to court documents, although ordering Tesla to cover the cost of a replacement wheel, Washington County Pro Tem Judge Benjamin Knaupp declined to require Tesla to reimburse Shaik for the expenses associated with the self-driving mode. Since Tesla’s Full Self-Driving mode didn’t function as promised, Shaik said he had argued that the company had engaged in misleading business practices. However, the judge ruled he needed to prepare for an expert witness to testify, so that portion of his case was immediately dismissed.
Shaik, a supporter of new technology, stated that he does not believe it is secure enough to be used widely.
Shaik stated, “I don’t hate Tesla.” I have nothing against their CEO. I’d like them to succeed. I want FSD to be successful. I’m hoping it works sometime. However, that doesn’t appear to be happening anytime soon.
The number of vehicles with self-driving capabilities in Oregon is unknown. According to Chris Crabb, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation, the state does not maintain track of or tally the number of vehicles that were in autonomous mode at the time of the collision. According to Crabb, Teslas with Full Self-Driving capabilities are permitted in Oregon and are categorized as Level 2 on a five-level scale of autonomous vehicles. California and Nevada are the only states that have authorized Level 3, the next stage of self-driving cars.
Four crashes employing Tesla’s Full Self-Driving feature are being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A 28-year-old biker from the Seattle region was hit by a Model S in April while the driver claimed to be gazing at his cellphone, one of at least two fatalities linked to cars using full self-driving technology.
According to a 2023 Washington Post investigation, the government agency’s probe of Full Self Driving comes amid continuing inquiries into crashes and at least eight fatalities nationwide that were connected to Autopilot on highways where it shouldn’t have been activated.
The 2021 Tesla that struck Ward’s 2021 Hyundai was moving quickly when it disregarded the stop sign in the predawn darkness on November 25, 2023, the day after Thanksgiving, at around 5:30 a.m., according to Ward’s lawsuit, which was filed last week in Clackamas County Circuit Court. Ward’s Hyundai was driven across the center median lane and oncoming traffic by the hit, and it finally came to a stop beside the curb.
Kristi Gifford, Ward’s lawyer, stated that Ward’s Hyundai was totaled and that the Tesla appeared to be as well. Ward was transported to OHSU Hospital via ambulance. He is suing for $600,000 for pain and suffering, $40,000 for lost wages, $5,000 for stuff he lost in the car, and $100,000 for past and future medical expenditures.
Aimee Green reports on the legal system and breaking news. You can contact her at [email protected] or @o_aimee, or 503-294-5119.
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