New York, New York BlueCruise Crash

Jed Dietrich, Esq., Recognized as a Super Lawyer and Lawyer of Distinction, is Committed to Providing Unparalleled Personal Injury Service. If You or a Loved One Has Been Injured Due to a Defective Ford BlueCruise System, the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. Could Help You Assert Your Rights to a Fair Recovery.

The federal government is launching an investigation into Ford’s BlueCruise system, a driver-assistance technology that has since been linked to multiple fatal car accidents.

Since 2021, Ford has reported no fewer than 32 crashes involving BlueCruise. Of these collisions, at least three were fatal. Ford, for its part, maintains that BlueCruise works exactly as intended; rather than admitting liability for any of the accidents, the company claims that driver inattention is largely to blame.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has contested Ford’s characterization of events. In a preliminary report, agency officials were quick to note that, in two of the most closely studied cases, drivers failed to apply their brakes or take other evasive action. At the same time, BlueCruise’s cameras failed to detect or respond to on-road hazards.

Under state and federal law, car-makers have a legal responsibility to ensure that the vehicles they sell are safe for ordinary use. If and when a company releases a product, feature, or program that exposes motorists to an unreasonable level of risk, the manufacturer could be found liable for the cost of any resulting accident.

You should not have to pay the price for an accident that was not your fault.

A recognized U.S. News & World Report Best Law Firm, the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. has spent more than 30 years helping New York families assert their rights to a fair recovery. We could help you, too. Please send us a message online or call our office directly at 1-866-529-5334 to speak to a BlueCruise accident lawyer near New York City and schedule your free, no-obligation consultation.

Ford’s BlueCruise is a type of driver-assistance technology.

Driver-assistance technologies are sometimes misconstrued and, at times, misrepresented as autonomous driving features. However, fully autonomous vehicles do not yet exist. Instead, systems like BlueCruise use a combination of detection devices and spatial data to navigate traffic. BlueCruise, for instance, relies on:

1. A network of cameras;
2. Special road-radar devices; and
3. GPS-derived positioning data.

If a vehicle’s computer, cameras, radar device, and GPS are all in working order, the risk of being involved in an accident is relatively low. Disruptions can, conversely, jeopardize the system’s integrity. As part of its preliminary report on BlueCruise, the NHTSA observed that all documented fatal collisions occurred (a) at night and (b) on controlled-access highways at highway speeds. Regulators believe this could be explained by the following factors:

1. The cameras that BlueCruise uses to “see” and assess the outside world may not have optimal visibility at night or in less-than-ideal driving conditions;
2. In some cases, BlueCruise is programmed to ignore stationary obstacles when traveling above 62 miles per hour; and
3. In at least two fatal collisions, BlueCruise did not noticeably warn drivers of an impending collision.

Ford, like other car companies, has largely resisted allegations of liability in these kinds of accidents. Rather than conceding that BlueCruise could be defective, though, Ford has repeatedly tried to place the blame on injured drivers, claiming that they either ignored warnings or actively sought to circumvent in-built safety systems like eye-motion detectors.

Ford’s BlueCruise promises a hands-free driving experience, but it also tells drivers they must remain alert and ready to take the wheel at a moment’s notice. If and when accidents happen, companies like Ford will often go to great lengths to minimize their own liability. This could mean refusing to negotiate a settlement, it may even involve using your own words against you, or misrepresenting information in your medical records to make it look like an accident-related injury was caused by a pre-existing condition.

You do not have to accept bad-faith excuses and heavy-handed tactics in place of a fair recovery.

If you have been injured in a BlueCruise accident that was not your fault, you should start protecting your rights by:

You should always see the doctor after a serious accident.

Going to the hospital offers several practical benefits. Aside from being able to receive treatment for accident-related injuries, a physician could help ensure that you have not sustained internal organ damage or other forms of trauma that are not visible from the outside.

Seeing the doctor helps you build a stronger case, too. Every time you go to an appointment to discuss your accident-related injuries, symptoms, and complications, your provider contributes items like diagnostic reports and test results to your medical records. Even simple observations can add a level of depth to your lawsuit by making it easier for the judge and jury to understand how your injury has affected your overall quality of life.

Your lawyer will help you conduct a thorough investigation into the exact causes of your accident, but that does not mean that you do not already have evidence that could prove critical to your case.

As a general rule, you should preserve any and all evidence relevant to both your accident and your accident-related injuries. This could include:

1. Pictures you took of the crash;
2. Photographs of your physical injuries;
3. Dash-cam footage or cellphone recording showing the video before the collision;
4. The clothing you were wearing at the time of the crash; and
5. The names, phone numbers, and contact information of anyone else who was in the vehicle or may have witnessed the accident.

Your evidence may not always form the core of your legal case against Ford, but it could help your lawyer piece together a stronger case that more accurately reflects the totality of what you have been forced to endure.

Hiring an experienced product liability lawyer could easily mean the difference between a failed claim and a successful settlement. Since our founding in 2005, the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. has helped our clients throughout New York obtain more than $300 million in damages money that they have used to eliminate medical debt, pay for corrective surgery, and begin reclaiming their independence. We could help you, too. Contact us today at 1-866-529-5334 to speak to a BlueCruise injury lawyer near New York City and schedule your 100% free, no-obligation consultation.

Call the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. immediately at 1-866-529-5334 so that our aggressive, tenacious, and hardworking personal injury lawyers can fight to obtain the best result for your personal injury claim in New York, New York. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and there is never a fee until we WIN for you!