With over four million electric vehicles (EVs) on U.S. roads, it’s likely only a matter of time before you get involved in an electric vehicle accident. Whether you own the EV or the other driver’s vehicle is electric, it’s important to understand how an electric car may affect your car accident claim. EV accident cases in Texas can involve various legal doctrines that are absent from standard car accident claims. Contact a car accident lawyer in San Antonio for legal guidance.
What Is an Electric Vehicle?
An electric vehicle is one that is powered partially or completely by electricity rather than using a traditional gas-powered motor. EVs draw electricity from a rechargeable battery. Some EVs have the option of being propelled by gasoline in a combustion engine, while others are 100 percent electric. Popular EV brands are Tesla, Rivian and Lucid.
Since Texas is a fault-based car insurance state, it is necessary to determine fault for an electric vehicle accident before you can proceed with an insurance claim. Under this rule, the party at fault for causing the crash is held liable, or financially responsible, for related damage.
Common causes of EV accidents include:
- Driver error: the fact that a vehicle is electric may have nothing to do with the cause of the crash if the driver simply made a mistake. These cases will be treated like any other car accident case in Texas, with the at-fault driver being held liable for the victim’s damages.
- Product defects: in other cases, an issue with the electric vehicle’s hardware or software may contribute to the crash. This may include faulty charging equipment, autopilot software or batteries.
- Silent operation: electric vehicles can operate so quietly that pedestrians in Texas don’t hear them approaching. This can expose pedestrians to the risk of stepping out in front of EVs and getting hit. The manufacturer could potentially be held liable in this situation for defective vehicle design.
Your legal rights and financial recovery options after an electric vehicle crash in Texas depend on the circumstances surrounding the accident. If one or more parties reasonably could have prevented the collision, they can likely be held liable for your medical bills and property repairs.
Unique Aspects of an Accident Case Involving an Electric Vehicle
Electric vehicles use advanced and often new technologies that can affect the laws surrounding a related accident claim. If an EV’s autopilot function was on at the time of the wreck, for example, this could reveal options for liability such as the manufacturer of the technology, if the software had a defect.
In this scenario, a car accident case could turn into a product liability lawsuit. Some cases may involve a mix of both human error and product liability. Determining liability for an EV accident may require an investigation into the car’s black box data or electronic logs.
Why You Should Hire an Attorney
An electric vehicle accident case in Texas may look different from your typical car accident case. For this reason, you can generally benefit from consulting with a personal injury attorney in San Antonio who has experience handling this type of claim.
A lawyer from Hill Law Firm Accident & Injury Attorneys can guide you through the process of seeking fair financial compensation from an electric vehicle driver, motor vehicle manufacturing company or another party. We have years of experience handling these cases and operate on a contingency fee basis, with $0 in fees unless we win.