Navigating the Legal Road Ahead of the Waymo-Lyft Robotaxi Deal, Published in The Legal Intelligencer

In an article published on January 29 in The Legal Intelligencer, Segal McCambridge Shareholder Jordan Rosenberg explains how the Waymo-Lyft robotaxi partnership may reshape safety, liability, and insurance issues for riders, regulators and legal practitioners, as motor vehicle risk shifts from human to software-led. Rosenberg shares practical considerations for insurers and litigators navigating shifts in autonomous vehicle regulation, claims complexity, and data-intensive disputes.  

"The deal underscores further momentum in the evolving world of motor vehicle liability from driver-centric risk to software-centric risk," Rosenberg explains. “At the federal level, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) continues to refine reporting requirements for crashes involving autonomous systems. However, states vary widely in permitting, insurance, and safety obligations.”   

Rosenberg notes that determining fault may require analyzing whether a loss stems from design defect, manufacturing issues, negligent system architecture, maintenance failures, or third-party conduct.  

He adds that data preservation and early expert strategy will become decisive. “System logs are the new eyewitnesses. Advanced technology will create major evidentiary ramifications as autonomous vehicles will be able to present objective evidence which explains the process of what was observed and actions taken in response as opposed to traditional human testimony based upon memory and perception,” said Rosenberg.     

Read the story in full: click here.