Chicago law firm Corboy & Demetrio stated on Tuesday it filed a lawsuit against electric automaker Tesla Inc alleging that its 2014 Model S sedan had a faulty battery pack that caused the death of an 18-year old passenger in an accident in 2018.
On May 2018, a Tesla driven by Barrett Riley with passenger Edgar Monserratt Martinez crashed into a concrete wall and erupted in flames in Fort Lauderdale, Florida killing two of the teenagers, according to the lawsuit.
The law firm represents the estate of Edgar Monserratt Martinez.
Less than two months prior the crash, Riley’s parents had a limiter installed at a Tesla service center to avoid the vehicle from reaching over 85 mph, but it was removed at another Tesla service visit without his parents’ knowledge, the law firm stated.
Another count in the lawsuit accuses Tesla was negligent in the removal of the limiter.
It added that Riley was driving the vehicle at 116 mph, right before the collision.
“No car could have withstood a high-speed crash of this kind,” Tesla stated, adding that its speed limit mode, which permits owners to limit their car’s speed and acceleration, was presented as an over-the-air update last year in dedication to Riley.
The lawsuit also accuses that Tesla “failed to warn purchasers of its vehicles of the battery’s dangerous condition.”
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board had stated last year it was probing the crash.
There have been at least a dozen globally reported cases of Tesla S batteries catching fire in collisions and also while being stationary in the last five years, the law firm stated.
