Self-driving and semi-autonomous vehicles are on California roads right now—in your neighborhood, on the freeway, outside schools and grocery stores. When one of those vehicles is involved in a crash and you or someone you love is hurt, figuring out who is responsible can feel impossible. The technology is new, the legal questions are complex, and the companies behind these vehicles have legal teams ready to defend them from day one.

Berg Injury Lawyers has over 45 years of experience handling serious injury cases across California, including recent crashes involving self-driving and semi-autonomous vehicles. If you’ve been hurt in a car crash involving an autonomous vehicle, contact Berg Injury Lawyers for a free consultation. If you don’t win, you pay nothing.

How Self-Driving Car Accidents Happen in California

California leads the nation in autonomous vehicle testing and deployment.

Robotaxi fleets, self-driving delivery vehicles, and consumer cars with advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) share roads with millions of drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians every day. Crashes involving these vehicles also tend to occur in ways that differ from typical car accidents.

Possible causes include:

  • Software or Sensor Failure: The vehicle’s lidar, radar, or camera systems malfunction, causing the car to misread its environment.
  • Failure to Detect Pedestrians or Cyclists: AV systems can struggle with unusual movements, low lighting, or partially obscured figures.
  • Unexpected System Disengagement: Semi-autonomous vehicles can hand control back to the human driver with little warning, leaving no time to react.
  • Erratic Braking or Acceleration: Sensor confusion or software errors can cause sudden, unpredictable vehicle behavior.
  • Intersection Errors: The AV misreads a traffic signal, fails to yield, or behaves in a way that nearby drivers don’t anticipate.
  • Mixed-Traffic Conflicts: Self-driving vehicles sometimes respond unpredictably to human drivers, creating dangerous situations for everyone nearby.

It’s also important to understand the difference between levels of driving automation. A fully autonomous robotaxi (Level 4 or 5) operates without a human driver. A semi-autonomous vehicle, such as a car with Tesla Autopilot or GM Super Cruise, still requires a human operator but handles significant driving tasks automatically. Assigning responsibility for a crash depends heavily on which type of vehicle was involved and exactly what the system was doing at the moment of impact.

Who Is Liable in a California Self-Driving Car Accident?

Liability in a self-driving car accident is rarely straightforward. Unlike a standard crash where one driver is at fault, AV accidents can involve multiple parties, multiple legal theories, and technical evidence that most attorneys have never dealt with before.

Depending on the circumstances, any of the following may share responsibility:

  • The Vehicle Manufacturer: If a defect in the car’s hardware caused or contributed to the crash, the manufacturer may face product liability claims.
  • The AV Software Developer: In some cases, the autonomous driving system is developed separately from the vehicle. If a software defect caused the crash, the developer may be independently liable.
  • A Commercial AV Operator: Companies running robotaxi fleets, such as Waymo, are responsible for how their vehicles behave on public roads.
  • A Human Driver: In semi-autonomous vehicles, a human operator is still responsible for monitoring the system and taking control when needed. If they failed to act, they may share fault.
  • A Negligent Third Party: Another driver’s actions may have contributed to the crash, even if the AV’s response made things worse.

California follows a pure comparative fault rule, so multiple parties may be responsible for paying damages proportional to their percentage of fault in the accident.

California Law and What It Means for Your Claim

California has the most comprehensive autonomous vehicle regulatory framework in the country, overseen by the California DMV and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Understanding how these rules work is essential to building a strong injury claim.

Key points for injured victims:

  • AV Crash Reporting: California law requires autonomous vehicle manufacturers to report all crashes involving their vehicles to the DMV. These reports can serve as powerful evidence.
  • Commercial AV Insurance Requirements: Companies operating robotaxi fleets under a CPUC permit must carry a minimum of $5 million in liability insurance. If you were hurt by a commercial AV, significant coverage may be available.
  • Pure Comparative Fault: You can still pursue a claim even if you share some responsibility for the crash. Your recovery is simply reduced by your percentage of fault—for instance, if you were 30% at fault, you could still recover 70% of damages.
  • Multiple Defendants: AV crashes often support both product liability claims against manufacturers and negligence claims against operators. Berg can help determine which theories apply and build the case accordingly.

The companies behind self-driving vehicles have legal teams, engineering experts, and public relations strategies ready to deploy the moment a crash occurs. Having experienced legal representation on your side helps level that playing field.

What to Do After a Self-Driving Car Accident in California

The steps you take right after a crash involving a self-driving vehicle can significantly affect your ability to pursue a claim. Follow these steps as closely as you can:

  • Call 911. Get police and emergency responders to the scene. An official crash report creates a record that’s hard to dispute later.
  • Seek medical care right away. Even if you feel fine, get evaluated. Injuries from car crashes often don’t show symptoms for hours or days. Medical documentation is critical.
  • Document everything at the scene. Photograph the vehicle (look for sensor arrays, fleet markings, company logos), the crash scene, your injuries, and any visible error messages or warning lights.
  • Identify the vehicle. Is it a commercial robotaxi, a personally owned car operating in autonomous mode, or a self-driving delivery vehicle? Identifying the operator and owner matters from a liability standpoint.
  • Get witness contact information. Passengers in the AV and nearby bystanders can be important witnesses. Get names and contact information before leaving the scene.
  • Don’t speak with the operator’s representative without a lawyer. If a company representative reaches out after the crash, do not give a recorded statement before speaking with an attorney.
  • Contact Berg Injury Lawyers before accepting anything. An initial consultation costs you nothing, and early action helps preserve critical evidence. If you don’t win, you pay nothing.

One of the most important things our attorneys do in an AV crash case is move quickly to preserve the vehicle’s data. Autonomous vehicles generate enormous amounts of data, which can establish exactly what the vehicle was doing at the moment of the crash. Without legal action to preserve it, that data can be lost or overwritten. At Berg Injury Lawyers, we work with technical experts to secure and analyze AV evidence.

Rideshare Drivers Involved in Self-Driving Car Accidents

If you drive for a rideshare platform in California, you share the road with commercial AV fleets every day, especially in the Bay Area and Sacramento. If you’re involved in a crash with a self-driving vehicle while you’re working, your situation is even more complicated than a normal AV crash claim.

Rideshare crashes already involve multiple layers of insurance coverage. Add an AV operator and you may be dealing with:

  • Your Personal Auto Insurance Policy: Coverage that applies when you’re off the rideshare app
  • Your Rideshare Company’s Commercial Coverage: Which applies differently depending on whether you had a passenger, were waiting for a match, or were between rides
  • The AV Operator’s Liability Coverage: Required under California CPUC rules for commercial AV fleets
  • Potential Product Liability Claims: If a vehicle or software defect contributed to the crash

Both the rideshare company’s insurer and the AV operator have strong incentives to minimize what they pay out. Having an attorney who handles both rideshare claims and AV accident claims—and understands how the two overlap—can make a real difference in the outcome.

Damages You Can Seek After a Self-Driving Car Accident

If you’ve been injured in a crash involving a self-driving or semi-autonomous vehicle in California, you may be able to seek compensation for a range of losses. Every case is different, but damages in AV accident claims can include:

  • Medical Expenses: Emergency care, surgeries, hospitalization, physical therapy, and the cost of future treatment related to your injuries
  • Lost Wages: Income lost while recovering, and reduced future earning capacity if your injuries affect your ability to work long-term
  • Property Damage: Repair or replacement costs for your vehicle and any personal property damaged in the crash
  • Pain and Suffering: Compensation for the physical pain and discomfort caused by your injuries
  • Emotional Distress: The psychological impact of a serious crash, including anxiety, trauma, and disruption to daily life
  • Loss of Enjoyment of Life: When your injuries prevent you from activities and experiences that mattered to you before the crash
  • Loss of Consortium: For spouses, when injuries have affected your relationship and family life

Berg Injury Lawyers fights to pursue every dollar you deserve, and we don’t stop until we’ve built the strongest possible case on your behalf.

What AV Companies and Insurers Don’t Want You to Know

The companies behind autonomous vehicles are not on your side after a crash. Whether it’s a manufacturer, a robotaxi operator, or an insurance carrier, their goal is to resolve your claim for as little as possible. Here are the tactics to watch for.

Early Settlement Offers

AV operators and their insurers often move fast after a crash, sometimes contacting injured victims within days. An early offer may seem generous, but it’s typically designed to close out your claim before the full extent of your injuries is known. Never accept a settlement offer before speaking with an attorney.

Requests for Recorded Statements

An adjuster or company representative may ask you to give a recorded statement about how the crash happened. What you say can be used against you. You are not required to provide a recorded statement, and doing so without legal guidance is almost always a mistake.

Blaming the Human Driver

In semi-autonomous vehicle crashes, AV companies frequently argue that the human driver was responsible. This is a predictable defense, and it’s one Berg Injury Lawyers is prepared to challenge with the right technical evidence.

Monitoring Social Media

Insurance companies and corporate legal teams track social media after crashes. Photos, check-ins, or posts that suggest you’re more physically active than your injuries would imply can be used to reduce your settlement. Limit what you post online after a crash.

Disputing Injury Severity

Soft tissue injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and other crash-related conditions are not always visible on early imaging. Insurers frequently dispute their severity or attribute them to pre-existing conditions. Consistent medical documentation and experienced legal representation are your best defenses.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is a self-driving car accident claim different from a regular car accident?

The main differences are the number of potential defendants and the type of evidence involved. AV crashes can implicate manufacturers, software developers, commercial fleet operators, and human drivers all at once. Event data and sensor logs also become critical evidence. These cases benefit from attorneys who understand both the legal and technical sides of autonomous vehicle liability.

If the self-driving car was in driver-assist mode, is the human driver considered fully responsible?

Not necessarily. Manufacturers of semi-autonomous driving systems have faced product liability claims even when a human was technically in control. If the system was defective, failed to provide adequate warnings, or was marketed in a way that encouraged misuse, the manufacturer may share or bear full responsibility. A thorough review of the vehicle’s data is often essential to making that case.

What should I do if the AV company has already contacted me?

Do not give a recorded statement, sign any documents, or accept any offers before speaking with an attorney. The company’s representative is not acting in your best interests. Contact Berg Injury Lawyers for a free consultation before you respond.

Talk to a California Self-Driving Car Accident Lawyer Today

When it comes to self-driving car cases, evidence can disappear, data can get overwritten, and early settlements can close doors that should stay open. If you or a family member has been hurt in a crash involving an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, the sooner you have experienced legal representation, the better.

Berg Injury Lawyers has the experience, resources, and technical knowledge to handle these complex car accident cases. We’ve been fighting for injured Californians for over 45 years, and we’re ready to fight for you. If you don’t win, you pay nothing.

Contact Berg Injury Lawyers today for a free consultation with an experienced California self-driving car accident lawyer.