Driverless Cars Could Shift Accident-Liability Focus

Oct. 14, 2016—Professor Michael Rustad of Suffolk University recently predicted that the advent of the driverless car will be joined by a shift in the focus of liability insurance from personal fault to product safety. Rustad said in a university press release that he also envisioned personal injury attorneys having to change their practices if the new vehicles drastically reduce collisions, as expected.

“Auto accidents make up the single largest category of state tort claims,” said Rustad. “We can be assured that self-driving cars are going to be much safer, and they’re coming online sooner than people realize.”

Rustad also predicted that legal action will shift from driver-involved accident claims to claims against car and component part manufacturers, including those responsible for software.