— Hans Von Ohain’s Tesla crash lawsuit should be dismissed because Tesla did not cause the crash or the 33-year-old Tesla employee’s death, it is claimed.
Hans Von Ohain Tesla’s wrongful death lawsuit alleges the Colorado man died due to a defect in his 2021 Tesla Model 3’s Autopilot system.
The May 16, 2022 Tesla crash also involved von Ohain’s friend, Erik Rossiter, who was in the front passenger seat of the Model 3 and told investigators that Autopilot was engaged at the time of the crash.
Mr Rossiter was able to flee the vehicle.
Von Ohain’s wife, Nora Bass, said her husband was killed when the Autopilot malfunctioned and the Tesla ran off the road, hit trees and caught fire.
“The deceased, Hans von Ohain, struggled to regain control of the vehicle but to his surprise and horror his efforts were blocked by the vehicle’s autopilot function, leaving him helpless and unable to return to his original route.” – Hans von Ohain Tesla lawsuit
The Colorado State Patrol released a 400-page crash report that said von Ohain was driving under the influence and his blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit.
But the lawsuit alleges that it was the Model 3 that caused von Ohain’s crash and death.
“Had the 2021 Tesla Model 3’s Autopilot feature been operating properly, the vehicle would not have veered off the road, struck a tree, caught fire, and the tragic death of Hans Von Ohain would have been avoided.” — Tesla lawsuit
Motion to dismiss Hans von Ohain’s Tesla crash lawsuit
In its motion to dismiss, Tesla repeatedly denied the allegations in Hans von Ohain’s wrongful death lawsuit and told the judge that the 2021 Tesla Model 3 was never defective.
The vehicle met or exceeded all federal safety standards, and Tesla said it was not a “substantial factor or substantial contributing factor” in Hans von Ohain’s death.
Tesla argued that it had no control over the accident and death and that the accident was “caused by displacing and/or intervening forces.”
According to the automaker, von Ohain’s use of the 2021 Tesla Model 3 was not as expected or anticipated.
The car passed all tests before being sold, but the plaintiff apparently failed to preserve evidence related to the Model 3 and the accident.
Tesla argued that the charges should be barred because failure to preserve evidence “destroyed” the case.
“The injuries and/or losses, if any, alleged by Plaintiff in the Complaint were caused by the negligence, fault, wrongful conduct, negligence per se, illegal acts, breaches, violations, and/or omissions of Plaintiff’s deceased and/or other persons or entities, which bar Plaintiff’s claims or relatively reduce Plaintiff’s rights to recover damages, if any, from Tesla.” — Tesla’s motion to dismiss lawsuit
According to Tesla, there was no defect in the Autopilot system that caused or contributed to the crash.
The Hans von Ohain Tesla crash lawsuit was originally filed in the District Court for Clear Creek County, Colorado, but was later transferred to the United States District Court for the District of Colorado: Nora Bass et al., v. Tesla Inc. et al..
The plaintiff’s attorney is MLG Law Firm.
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