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The family of a man who died in a crash
involving a Tesla Cybertruck filed a lawsuit
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against the automaker alleging a defective
design and other claims.
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The lawsuit filed in Harris County District
Court in Texas stated that in August 2024,
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47-year-old Michael Sheehan’s cybertruck veered
off the road,
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hit a culvert, and caught fire, trapping
Sheehan inside a blaze that allegedly reached
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5000 °F.
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Sheehan’s family is Also suing Bar and Whiskey
Bar, claiming that the establishment overserved
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Sheehan alcohol on the night of the crash.
The family demands a trial by jury and seeks
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monetary relief that exceeds $1 million.
The lawsuit acknowledged that the incident was
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a single vehicle crash.
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However, it argues that the crash forces were
survivable and contends that the cybertruck’s
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deformation contributed to the fire and
prevented Sheehan from escaping the burning
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vehicle.
Defective design.
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Claims include the use of a highly volatile
battery prone to thermal runaway despite the
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availability of an alternative battery cell
chemistry that could have allowed more time to
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escape after the crash.
The lawsuit also labeled the vehicle not crash
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worthy due to multiple factors, including the
design of energy absorbing structures near the
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battery modules.
The lawsuit also identified the cybertruck’s
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doors as a design defect, arguing that
occupants cannot open them once.
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is lost and that the vehicle’s alternate
interior door handles are unreasonably
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difficult to locate in an emergency.
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According to the lawsuit, Tesla failed to give
adequate warnings of the cybertruck’s dangers
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and adequate instructions to avoid the
product’s dangers,
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and that the company’s negligence in the design,
manufacturing, testing,
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inspection, marketing, instruction, and selling
of the vehicle contributed to Sheehan’s death.
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I’m Nola Wildstein.
This is manufacturing now.