The Driverless Ecosystem Brings Great Promise While Delivering Evolving Risks, Published in the Daily Journal Los Angeles

The Daily Journal published an article by Shareholder Kenneth P. Williams, highlighting the evolving legal landscape surrounding autonomous vehicles as the technology advances rapidly. With AV investments increasing by 800% annually over the past five years and market potential reaching $400 billion by 2035, companies must navigate shifting liability frameworks, insurance coverage implications, and emerging litigation risks in this transformative industry.

“Especially as AV technologies mature into fully autonomous operation, manufacturers and the ecosystem of related products could be held liable for injuries caused by product defects,” writes Williams. “A manufacturer’s duty to create a safe vehicle and a tech supplier’s software that could cause harm due to a defect or malfunction will be assessed for their role in creating harm. AV products and vehicle brands must work proactively with legal counsel as the negligence-based model shifts towards a strict liability model.

Insurance coverage issues span from the driver, AV manufacturer, vehicle owner and data handlers.

“Discussions will also need to take place with insurance carrier claims teams,” writes Williams. “Front-line claim representatives must be trained in hypothetical scenarios to know how to address real claims as AV market share increases. Insurance carrier claims managers and management teams need to be adept at working with experts to determine coverage viability.”

Read the story in full, Link to Article (subscriber-based).