The National Transportation Safety Board has announced it is to send two investigators to examine the scene of a fatal Tesla collision in Northern California. The driver of the Tesla Model X SUV, which struck highway barriers near Mountain View on Friday, March 23 before bursting into flames, died in hospital later the same day. The NTSB officials have been tasked with examining the scene of the collision, with a view to identifying the steps required to safely remove the vehicle from the freeway. At the time of writing, it is not known whether Tesla’s partially autonomous driving system, Autopilot, was engaged when the collision occurred.
Given that this is not the first fatal accident involving an autonomous vehicle this month, it may not come as a surprise to learn that autonomous car testing by Uber and Nvidia, amongst others, has been put on hold indefinitely. Nevertheless, Tesla is apparently still planning to release a new version of the Autopilot self-driving software later in 2018.
Facts and Fallacies Encountered by Los Angeles Car Accident Attorneys
Car accidents are a common part of life in cities as busy as Los Angeles, meaning a car crash lawyer in LA will have gained extensive experience in handling related cases. While working on these cases, we have realized that there are some facts you should be aware of, and some popular misconceptions we would really like to debunk right now.
Los Angeles Car Accident Facts:
- Between 35,000 and 40,000 people die in US car accidents each year, with approximately 2.3 million sustaining injuries
- These injuries, fatal or otherwise, occur because of around 10 million collisions on American roads annually
- More than 11 million drivers are arrested each year for driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Aggressive and reckless driving is believed to be the most common cause of car accidents in Los Angeles and across the United States
- Distracted driving is another major contributor, causing almost 400,000 injuries per year
- Almost 10% of car accidents in California involve hit and run
Los Angeles Car Accident Fiction:
- The police can determine who is at fault
- You and the other drivers involved can work it out fairly, without involving attorneys
- Your insurance company will make sure you recover the compensation you are entitled to
- You can only claim for injuries you report immediately following an accident
As you can probably tell from these lists, Los Angeles car accidents are rarely straightforward. One thing that always applies is that you should seek expert legal representation from a Los Angeles car accident attorney as soon as possible. If you try to go it alone, trusting your insurance company to decide on the compensation you deserve, chances are you will leave yourself out of pocket. An experienced attorney from the Law Offices of Howard Kornberg is ready and waiting to harness years of relevant legal experience into helping you get the best possible outcome from your case.
To find out exactly what a Los Angeles car accident attorney could do for you, call us today at 310-997-0904 to schedule your free initial consultation.