Tesla sued over alleged suspension failure in fatal crash in Florida

EV maker Tesla has been sued by the family of a driver who got killed in an accident involving a 2021 Tesla Model 3 last year in Florida. The reason of the fatal crash is alleged to be suspension failure, resulting in the death of the driver and a passenger. The crash also triggered a federal probe.

The family which filed the lawsuit in a Florida state court last week, alleged that the Model 3 had a "defective and unreasonably dangerous suspension that may cause loss of control during ordinary and foreseeable driving conditions". The case was first reported by legal information site Plainsite.

The lawsuit stated that four days before the accident in September, the driver, Nicholas G Garcia, had taken the vehicle to a Tesla Store due to problems with "controllability/steering, suspension, battery and electronic system, and an ability to open the doors."

The lawsuit further accused a Tesla service manager of "negligently" in inspecting the affected model. The lawsuit seeks damages of over $30,000 each from Tesla and the service manager.

As per the National Transportation Safety Board, which is probing the accident, a preliminary report in November showed that the car was speeding before crashing into two trees and consequently catching fire. After the crash, Garcia, 20, and front-seat passenger Jazmin Alcala, 19, sustained injuries and "traumatic life ending burns," according to a Coral Gables Police Department report.

The police report stated that the vehicle's under-body struck the roadway after going over a "hump" in the center of an intersection. The driver lost control and drove off the roadway before the collision.

In October, Tesla recalled nearly 3,000 2020-2021 Model Y and 2019-2021 Model 3 vehicles in the US over a suspension issue. While the company recalled 21,599 China-made Model Ys in December, saying that a suspension link may fall out of the steering knuckle under extreme stress conditions. Additionally, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into around 115,000 Model S and Model X units in 2020 over a front suspension safety issue.

(with inputs from Reuters)

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