A grieving widow filed a lawsuit against Tesla after her husband’s 2020 Model 3 crashed and exploded, starting a fire that claimed his life.
According to a lawsuit submitted to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, the plaintiff, Jiyoung Yoon, claims Tesla was responsible for the design, manufacture, distribution, and sale of her husband’s vehicle in its “defective and unreasonably dangerous condition,” which ultimately resulted in his demise.
On March 12, 2022, Jyung Woo Hahn, 46, was driving his Tesla on the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Rockland County, New York, when a problem caused it to crash into a tree and catch fire.
Yoon alleges that although her husband was in the quickly burning car, he managed to survive the initial collision. A burned-out vehicle shell is seen in photos of the collision.
According to The Daily Voice, the car’s lithium-ion battery caught fire after the collision and Nanuet firefighters who went to the scene described the fire as being “extremely difficult” to put out.
More than 1,000 litres of water were utilised by the firefighters to put out the fire.
Yoon claims that Tesla is solely responsible for her husband’s passing. She charges the automaker with producing a car that is not crashworthy and has design and manufacturing flaws. Additionally, Yoon claims that Tesla is negligent and in violation of the implicit warranty of merchantability.
The plaintiff is seeking all legal damages, including real losses, lost wages and earning ability, loss of parental supervision, mental distress, punitive damages, and more. She also seeks a jury trial.
