Self-driving cars were once the stuff of science fiction. Today, they are a growing reality on American roads—and so are the crashes they cause. Victims of crashes involving a vehicle operating in full self-driving or autonomous mode may have powerful legal options under product liability law. Here is what you need to know.

The Rise of the Autonomous Vehicle and the Risks That Come With It

Automakers and tech companies have invested billions of dollars to create and promote autonomous vehicle technology. As the adoption of autonomous driving technology becomes more widespread, so too does the incidence of crashes caused by autonomous vehicles.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which began mandating crash reporting for autonomous vehicles in June 2021, there have been more than 5,200 autonomous vehicle incidents reported in the United States through late 2025. That number has climbed steadily every year, and monthly crash totals set a new record of 118 incidents in January 2026 alone.

There are two major categories of autonomous technology. Automated Driving Systems (ADS) perform the entire driving task without human intervention.  Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) assist a driver but still require human oversight.

Waymo, the Alphabet-owned robotaxi company, leads all ADS operators in reported incidents, with more than 900 crashes on record. This is partly because Waymo operates the largest fleet of fully autonomous vehicles in the country. Tesla, by contrast, leads all ADAS operators with more than 2,000 reported incidents tied to its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) features. NHTSA has initiated multiple investigations into autopilot crashes across multiple vehicle platforms.

Some high-profile incidents include:

• 2018: A Tesla Model X on Autopilot veered out of its lane and accelerated into a highway barrier, killing the driver. Tesla later settled the wrongful death lawsuit.
  
• 2018: An Uber self-driving test vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona — the first recorded pedestrian fatality involving a fully autonomous vehicle.
  
• 2024: Waymo recalled more than 1,200 of its fifth-generation robotaxis after a series of low-speed collisions with stationary objects, prompting an NHTSA investigation.
  
• 2025: A federal jury found Tesla liable for a pedestrian death stemming from an Autopilot-related collision, concluding that the system’s design and warnings contributed to the crash.
  
• 2025: A Zoox autonomous vehicle struck a cyclist in San Francisco, prompting the company to temporarily suspend operations.

These are not isolated glitches, according to reports. Claimants allege they reflect systemic issues — software vulnerabilities, sensor failures, mapping inaccuracies, and the fundamental challenge of programming a machine to navigate the unpredictable human world.

The Legal Framework: Product Liability in Autonomous Vehicle Crashes

When a product is defective and causes injury, the law provides a remedy. In autonomous vehicle crashes, product liability law is one of the most powerful tools available to injured victims — and the potential defendants go far beyond the person behind the wheel.

Three Types of Product Defects

Under product liability law, a claim may be based on one of three types of defects:

1. Design Defect A design defect exists when the fundamental engineering of the product is unreasonably dangerous. In the autonomous vehicle context, this could mean an autonomous system that is not capable of safely detecting pedestrians at night, or a lane-keeping algorithm that performs poorly in construction zones or adverse weather. In Georgia, if the danger of the design outweighs its utility, the manufacturer may be liable regardless of how carefully the car was built.

2. Manufacturing Defect A manufacturing defect occurs when a specific vehicle deviates from its intended design due to a flaw in the production process. An improperly calibrated sensor or an incorrectly installed software module could fall into this category.

3. Failure to Warn: Manufacturers have a duty to warn consumers about the known limitations of their products. Autonomous vehicle companies have faced serious scrutiny over whether their marketing—using terms like “Full Self-Driving” and “Autopilot”—creates a false sense of security that leads drivers to over-rely on technology that is not yet capable of true autonomous operation. A failure to adequately disclose those limitations may itself be a basis for liability.

Georgia Law and Strict Liability

Georgia follows strict product liability principles under O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11, which allows an injured party to hold a manufacturer liable for injuries caused by a defective product that was not substantially changed from its original condition. Critically, a victim does not need to prove that the manufacturer was negligent—only that the product was defective and that the defect caused the injury.

The Challenges of AV Crash Litigation

Pursuing a product liability claim against a major automaker or technology company is not simple. These companies have sophisticated legal teams and a strong financial interest in defending their technology. They will argue that their systems performed as intended, that the human driver failed to maintain adequate supervision, or that another party was at fault.

Successfully challenging those arguments requires:

• Preservation of data. Autonomous vehicles generate enormous amounts of data — sensor logs, GPS records, braking inputs, driver monitoring footage, software version histories. This data can be critical evidence, but it can also be lost or overwritten quickly if action is not taken promptly.
  
• Expert analysis. Understanding what went wrong in an AV crash typically requires engineers, software specialists, accident reconstructionists, and others who can translate complex technical data into evidence a jury can understand.
  
• Knowledge of the regulatory landscape. NHTSA reporting requirements, state AV testing laws, recall histories, and prior incidents involving the same technology are all potentially relevant to a product liability claim.

You Should Not Face This Alone

The law has always evolved alongside technology, and autonomous vehicle litigation is one of the fastest-moving frontiers in personal injury law today. The stakes are high for victims and public safety on roads where increasingly autonomous machines and human beings share the same space.

At Cannella Snyder LLC, our attorneys have extensive specialized experience in product liability and personal injury law. We understand how to investigate complex cases, take on well-funded corporate defendants, and fight for the compensation our clients deserve.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a crash involving an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, do not wait. Evidence can disappear, and time limits under Georgia’s statute of limitations and statute of repose apply. Contact our office today for a free consultation. We are here to help you understand your rights and chart a path forward.

The content of this blog post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, please contact our office.