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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Terry Spencer

Lawsuit blaming Tesla's Autopilot for driver's death can go to trial, judge rules

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

A jury should decide whether Tesla and Elon Musk oversold the capabilities of the electric car company's Autopilot system and caused the fatal crash of a software engineer who engaged it, took his hands off the steering wheel and seconds later slammed into a truck, a Florida judge has ruled.

Circuit Judge Reid Scott rejected Tesla's motion to summarily dismiss Kim Banner's lawsuit accusing the company of causing her husband Jeremy Banner's death in 2019. In a 23-page ruling, Scott found that Kim Banner's attorneys presented sufficient evidence to let the case proceed to trial sometime next year. Scott also found that Banner can seek punitive damages from the company that, if awarded, could reach millions of dollars.

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