Uber Victim’s Daughter Retains A Lawyer For What Will Likely Become A Landmark Case

BY Michael Gauthier | Posted on

The fallout from the fatal accident involving one of Uber’s autonomous vehicles continues as the daughter of the victim has retain a lawyer in preparations for what will likely become a landmark case for autonomous vehicles.

In a statement, the law firm of Bellah Perez, PLLC confirmed the daughter of Elaine Herzberg has chosen the law firm to pursue legal action against the company. The firm didn’t discuss specifics of the case but Cristina Perez Hesano said Arizona has encouraged companies to test their autonomous vehicles in the state so the firm feels a “special responsibility to represent this case as it directly impacts our fellow Arizonans sharing the road with these machines.”

While the case has wider implications, the law firm says it is “fundamentally about a woman who lost her mother and wants to understand why.” The firm also acknowledged the accident has “sparked a national debate about the safety of self-driving cars, exposing the technology’s blind spots and raising questions of liability.”

The news comes hot on the heels of the release of accident footage which appears to contradict claims that Herzberg suddenly stepped in front of the Volvo XC90. As Reuters notes, the homeless woman has walking her bike across a divided four-lane road and managed to get to the far right lane before being hit. The footage also revealed the car’s safety driver took their eyes off the road a few seconds before the crash.

The failure of both the autonomous driving system and the safety driver is disappointing, to say the least, and it now appears these failures could cost the company significantly.

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  • TrevP

    I guess we will see what happens next.

    • Status

      Out of court settlement.

      • Erzhik

        That would be a real shame, given that this should set a precedent for future cases. While it is tragic that this woman died, the verdict of this case is crucial for future.

  • klowik

    but the woman seemed to cross the road without even looking if there’s any car coming her way…and she did not use the section with pedestrian traffic lights..even if the car is a driver driven, she could end up getting hit..

    • Erzhik

      That’s not the point. Car is equipped with $100k worth of radars and tech. It is also equipped with LIDAR, which itself should’ve detected a human being in the road. That is the whole purpose of self driving cars, to detect an impeding impact and attempt to avoid. This car didn’t detect anything. What if in the future it’s a child in the road? A blind person? A large animal, big enough to pose risk to car occupants? The technology on the car didn’t work, therefore what is the point of this?

  • Jason Miller

    Maybe it’s none of my business, but why was her mother homeless if her daughter cares enough about her to pursue legal action? I feel like this is the daughter seeing a prime opportunity pad her pockets.

    • klowik

      for sure her daughter will be millionaires!!

    • BlackPegasus

      “Homeless woman/man hit by car”

      Google that and ask why wasn’t those stories sensationalized like the Uber story.

    • Erzhik

      Some people leave their children and live their own and children can’t force their parents to live with them. Also, just because it’s a lawsuit, doesn’t mean the daughter is paying up front. Case this big, lawyers would be paid after the case if they win.

  • BlackPegasus

    The woman was jaywalking in the dark of night with no reflective clothing nor lights on the bicycle. This is the tragic result of the victim being negligent for her own death. This wouldn’t be anywhere near a “landmark “ case if the car was being driven by a texting teen, so lets stop sensationalizing this case because of technology.

    • Erzhik

      Yes, she was jaywalking. But, the operator wasn’t paying attention. And the whole purpose of a self driving car is to eliminate deadly accidents. The car that is equipped with $100k worth of self driving technology couldn’t detect a human being in the road. If it couldn’t do that, what is the point of all this tech? Do you really want to buy a car in 10 years with self driving tech and realize it’s not actually working? Let’s not forget that Uber was racing to put self-driving cars on the road by 2019. Car is equipped with LIDAR and IR radars. LIDAR alone should be able to detect objects ahead, it doesn’t matter if it’s dark or light. LIDAR works better in the dark too.