Of all of the big innovations that have happened in the world, electric cars are one of the biggest ones. These are designed to be the perfect working cars that can take you from one place to another. But these do come with their own set of challenges.
Some very common challenges are faced by electric cars that cause them to misjudge and cause accidents of different sorts. Liability, as well, does play a very important role when it comes to electric cars.
Now, with the increase in the number of electric cars on the road, the probability of the mishaps happening has also increased. Also, liability is available for all kinds of incidents that might occur. A car accident lawyer with expertise can help you with complex cases.
Understanding Liability in Electric Cars
The understanding of liability is very crucial for all the people who own an electric car in this age. This holds a lot of importance.
Battery Issues: The batteries that are used in electric cars are usually Li-ion, and these come with a lot of risk when it comes to getting damaged or faulty. Now, if there are battery issues in the car and the car gets into an accident, it is very difficult to decide who to blame: the driver, the car, or the defeat that was overlooked.
Legal Implications: Now, the unique aspects of electric cars are really interesting to a lot of people. But when an accident occurs, it gets very difficult and challenging to decide who to put the blame on. The laws also have to be revised every time there is a new big innovation like electric cars.
New Technologies and New Challenges: The new technology in cars, especially the one that includes the self-driving feature, can increase the complexities in every way. In case of an accident, it gets challenging for the authorities to tell who was at fault and who to blame.
Consumer Know-How: In order for the customer to stay familiar with the liabilities of electric cars, it is very important to make them aware of how it works in the case of electric cars.
Manufacturer’s Liability
Out of all the liabilities, the manufacturer’s liability is the most talked about and is not very much known among people who own electric cars.
Let’s understand that.
Warranties
There are express warranties issued by the manufacturers that say that they commit to the performance of the car. This usually involves the lifespan of the car. What is the range of the battery, or how long will it be working fine?
Then comes the implied warranty. These are not written guarantees and are associated with the product by the consumer itself, related to how it will be working. When it comes to electric cars, it means that the car will be driving fine, it will charge just okay, and it will perform the best when the conditions are right.
But one thing that must be kept in mind is the exclusions and the limitations that come with the warranties. So, make sure to keep an eye on them.
Product Defects
A product defect refers to a fault that is observed in a product that can be a cause of danger later on. In the case of electric cars, these can be battery problems, structural issues, and malfunctions in the safety features.
A personal injury lawyer can help you with the right pathway to deal with the manufacturer’s liability.
Driver’s Liability
The liabilities along with the responsibilities with the electric cars are also changing with each passing day.
Now, with the introduction of a number of features like the self-driving feature, the users think that all of the blame must be put on the manufacturers for inserting such features when these features are just for help and are operated by humans.
The driver’s duty, as the name states, is to drive the car. Even if you put the vehicle on self-drive mode, it is still up to the driver to ensure no accidents occur.
Also, one more thing to focus on here is the autonomous level. There are some levels involved in such cases. The electric vehicles do have levels 2 or 3, which means that they do need driver assistance even though they can handle a lot of the functions performed by the drivers.
Conclusion
Electric cars have been a great innovation in the current times, and they do come with several question marks and challenges with them. The accidents caused by an electric car collision are very difficult to deal with. The legal implications of such accidents are not very easy to maneuver through. For that, when it comes to electric vehicle liability, a lawyer is always needed.
