It was widely reported that a pedestrian in Arizona was recentlystruck and killed by an Uber self-driving automobile inthe testing stage.

A secondary story to emerge from this tragedy has been about theoverall safety of self-driving cars. Some companies havetemporarily suspended the testing of their autonomous vehicles;Arizona put the brakes on allowing Uber to testsuch vehicles on public roads.

Let's get real

Although automobile manufacturers long ago conquered cruisecontrol, and blind-spot monitoring is an impressive innovation, I'mdubious that drivers will ever be playing Yahtzee on the way towork.

Nonetheless, the talk of safe, self-driving automobiles is soserious that some insurance companies have warned theirinvestors in securities filings that there could be a decrease indemand for auto insurance.

Personally, the idea of driverless cars just makes me want tobuy more insurance.

But even if widespread adoption of driverless cars somehowbecomes a reality, they surely won't be foolproof. Given theirtechnological complexity, that seems impossible.

And unlike an inconsequential glitch with your office computer,here it will be control, alt, and someone's life is deleted.

In addition to the technology not being withoutflaws, it will be many years before it is only driverless carsthat are on the road. So there will still be plenty of opportunityfor human factors to play a large part in automobile safety.

Courtroom view

Admittedly, I know nothing about the technology that supposedlymakes driverless cars feasible and safe. But I do know somethingabout lawyers. Just as day follows night, lawsuits follow caraccidents.

Widespread adoption of self-driving automobileswill dramatically alter the landscape for lawsuits following carcrashes and the insurance policies that fund the verdicts andsettlements.

Right now, when there is an auto accident, it is rare to see thecar manufacturer named as a defendant. But when a self-drivingautomobile is involved, drivers will no longer be fighting overwhich one had the red light, but whose car is to blame.

However, if the car involved in the accident was designed not tohave accidents, it's easy to see the automobile manufacturer andthe companies that made the component parts for the self-drivingaspect being named as responsible parties in lawsuits for countlessautomobile accidents.

Accidents that are now simple and quickly resolved will becomecomplex, drawn-out, technological fights between drivers and manufacturers overliability. Car crashes will go from one of the law's simplerproblems to complex product-liability litigation.

No matter how safe self-driving automobilesare, the manufacturers of automobiles and their component partswill still find themselves involved in enough cases to be at riskfor serious financial consequences.

Unlike at-fault drivers, who often have auto insurance policieswith paltry limits, that's not likely to be the case formanufacturers of automobiles and their component parts. This is theplaintiff's lawyer's dream: a deep pocket for every automobileaccident.

Peripheral players

Manufacturers of cars and parts may shrug this off as somethingthat they'll pass on to their insurance companies. But insurersknow how to put a price on risk, including their responsibility forthe defense of litigation.

Given the claims frequency and severity, themanufacturers may find it cost-prohibitive to go the insuranceroute. And if the solution is to build this risk factor into theprice of the car, which would presumably make it more challengingfor manufacturers to sell them.

Technological advances, no matter the convenience, quality oflife or lifesaving features that they provide, often come withunintended consequences. But when those consequences includelawyers, they can be particularly troublesome and expensive.Automobile manufacturers, who are racing to get to market withdriverless cars, should be careful what they wish for.

Randy Maniloff ([email protected])is an insurance coverage attorney at White and Williams inPhiladelphia. The opinions expressed here are the author'sown.

See also:

Navigating the twists and turns of self-drivingcars and insurance

Insurance protection for Uber/Lyft drivers:What you need to know