Case tracker

Autonomous & assisted driving lawsuits & cases

Injuries and deaths involving self-driving systems and driver-assist features (Autopilot), and the product-liability questions they raise.

2 tracked cases

• Ruling issued

  Verdict Aug 1, 2025 (~$243M)

  Benavides Leon v. Tesla, Inc.

  Tesla Autopilot (Model S) · United States (Florida)

  Arising from a 2019 Key Largo crash in which a Tesla on Autopilot ran a T-intersection and struck a parked car, killing pedestrian Naibel Benavides Leon and injuring Dillon Angulo, a Miami jury found Tesla partly liable and awarded about $243 million (including $200 million in punitive damages). It was the first U.S. verdict holding Tesla liable in a wrongful-death action tied to Autopilot; a judge upheld the verdict in February 2026 and Tesla has appealed.

• Settled

  Charged 2020; plea 2023

  State of Arizona v. Rafaela Vasquez

  Uber Advanced Technologies Group self-driving system (Volvo XC90) · United States (Arizona)

  In March 2018, pedestrian Elaine Herzberg was struck and killed by an Uber autonomous test vehicle in Tempe — the first known pedestrian death involving a self-driving car. Safety driver Rafaela Vasquez, found by the NTSB to have been distracted, was charged with negligent homicide in 2020 and in 2023 pleaded guilty to endangerment, receiving three years of supervised probation. Uber was not criminally charged.

Informational summaries compiled from public sources cited on each case page. Not legal advice. Verify current status with primary sources.