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Helping People Injured by Self-Driving Cars in and Around Los Angeles
Self-driving car accidents aren’t going away, so it is good to be prepared if you or a loved one needs legal representation from a Waymo car accident lawyer. At MKP Law Group, LLP, our Los Angeles-based attorneys are committed to assisting individuals affected by autonomous vehicle accidents. We understand the intricacies of these cases and are dedicated to advocating for the settlement you deserve.
Key Takeaways
- There are about 100 autonomous vehicle accidents each year in California.
- There could be multiple liable parties in a crash involving a Waymo vehicle.
- At MKP Law Group, LLP, we understand how Waymo vehicles actually work, and we use that knowledge to help our clients.
How Do Waymo Driverless Cars Work?
Waymo’s self-driving cars use an advanced blend of sensors and software for navigation, incorporating numerous cameras, radar, and Lidar sensors that collectively offer a comprehensive 360-degree view of the environment. This configuration allows for quick detection of objects, pedestrians, and other vehicles. The onboard computer processes this data to guide vital driving maneuvers, including acceleration, braking, and safe lane changes.
What Causes Waymo Crashes?
Despite advanced technology, Waymo vehicles can still be involved in accidents. These incidents typically stem from two primary sources: human negligence and system malfunctions or defects.
Human Negligence
Human error remains a significant factor in many autonomous vehicle accidents. Common scenarios include:
- Other drivers misjudge the actions of autonomous vehicles, leading to collisions.
- Pedestrians or cyclists fail to adhere to traffic signals, resulting in unexpected interactions.
- Manual takeover by a human operator within the autonomous vehicle can introduce errors if the operator is inattentive or unprepared.
System Malfunctions and Defects
Technical problems in autonomous systems can also lead to accidents. Malfunctions include issues like sensor failures that result in incorrect interpretations of the vehicle’s surroundings, software errors, and challenges in accurately recognizing and responding to unpredictable human behaviors, such as jaywalking or erratic driving by others. Attacking these technical and mechanical issues is critical for improving autonomous vehicles’ future safety and reliability.
What Kinds of Injuries Do Waymo Car Accidents Cause?
Accidents involving Waymo vehicles can result in a range of injuries, particularly to pedestrians and cyclists, who are more vulnerable due to autonomous systems’ challenges in accurately detecting them, especially under low-light conditions. Common injuries include:
Fractures and broken bones. Pedestrians and cyclists are at greatest risk of multiple fractures, especially to the legs, hips, and ribs. Drivers and passengers can also sustain injuries from the impact, or from airbag deployment (where applicable).
- Traumatic brain injuries. Brain trauma can occur even without a penetrating injury to the skull. The force of the impact can cause the brain to move, leading to a coup/contrecoup injury.
- Spinal cord injuries. Damage to the spinal cord can potentially lead to long-term disability or paralysis.
- Back and neck injuries. Neck and back injuries are among the most common injuries you can sustain in a car crash. Specifically, damage to the disks can leave you in chronic pain or create mobility issues.
- Scarring and disfigurement. Depending on the severity of your injuries, you could be left with permanent, disfiguring scars. Scarring is often the source of recurring emotional and mental trauma for many survivors.
How Many Self-Driving Car Accidents Occur Per Year in California?
As of March 28, 2025, the California Department of Motor Vehicles reported receiving 798 Autonomous Vehicle Collision Reports since January 2019. Thankfully, the number of accidents appears to be going down, but there are still over 100 each year.
- In 2023, there were 132 reported incidents, 50 of which involved Waymo vehicles. Of those incidents, 11 occurred between Jan 1 and Feb 23, and two involved Waymo
- In 2024, there were 102 reported incidents, 65 of which involved Waymo vehicles. Of those incidents, 16 occurred between Jan 1 and Feb 23, and four involved Waymo.
- Between Jan 1 and Feb 23 of 2025, there have been 20 reports in total, eight of which involved a Waymo vehicle.
What Is the Waymo Crash Rate?
Waymo has publicly shared data indicating that its autonomous vehicles have a lower crash rate than human-driven vehicles. For instance, a study comparing Waymo’s crash data to human benchmarks over 7.1 million miles found an 80% reduction in injury-reported crashes and a 57% reduction in police-reported crashes for Waymo vehicles. However, it’s important to approach these figures cautiously, as ongoing incidents and the evolving nature of autonomous technology suggest that challenges remain in achieving consistent safety improvements.
Who Is Liable for a Waymo Car Accident in Los Angeles?
Determining liability in accidents involving autonomous vehicles like Waymo’s can be complex. Potentially responsible parties may include:
- Vehicle Manufacturer – Did a design or manufacturing defect contribute to the accident?
- Software Developers – Did programming errors lead to system malfunctions?
- Human Operators or Passengers – Did their actions interfere with the vehicle’s operation?
- Other Motorists – Did negligent driving by another vehicle’s driver cause or contribute to the collision?
Identifying the liable party requires a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the accident. This is where having an attorney on your side can help. The insurance company will launch their own investigation, but so will we. We review all the available evidence to ensure that no liable parties are overlooked.
Why Suing Waymo for Car Accidents Can Be Challenging
Pursuing legal action against a company like Waymo is different from other types of car accident cases. The legislation hasn’t kept up with the technology, so there are a lot of gray areas of the law.
There’s also a challenge with the technology itself. Is it a hardware issue? A software issue? Did the program glitch, or did it behave as it was programmed to behave – but that way is fundamentally flawed? In cases where there are multiple parties involved, did the Waymo vehicle’s behavior cause other drivers to take evasive actions, thus causing additional crashes?
The greatest challenge, of course, is that Waymo is part of the Alphabet family – the company that owns Google. They are going to have an army of lawyers and almost unfathomable resources on their side.
How Long Do I Have to File a Claim for a Waymo Car Crash?
In California, you generally have two years to file a claim for a Waymo car crash. If you fail to file a claim within this timeframe, you could lose your right to seek compensation. Note that there may be exceptions to this statute of limitations, but you really should call us as soon as you can. Our Los Angeles car accident attorneys can get started right away.
What Damages Can I Seek in a Lawsuit Against Waymo?
If a Waymo vehicle caused your injuries, whether you were a pedestrian, cyclist, or another driver, you may be entitled to recover compensation for:
- Medical expenses (past and future)
- Lost wages or loss of earning potential
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Property damage
- Disability or disfigurement
- Funeral and/or burial costs (if a loved one passed away due to the accident)
The goal of an injury claim is to help make you whole as much as possible, so these damages aren’t just numbers. They’re a way to ensure your family is safe and secure. Our job at MKP Law Group, LLP is to make sure every one of those losses is accounted for in your claim, and to fight for the outcome that is best for you.
How Our Los Angeles Car Accident Lawyers Are Different
At MKP Law Group, LLP, we believe no one should be left with outstanding medical bills or worrying about lost wages because of a crash they did not cause. Whether you were walking across the street in Downtown Los Angeles or driving around San Francisco when a Waymo vehicle struck your car, you deserve answers – and compensation.
Our team understands how to approach these high-tech claims with the same grit and personal touch that defines every case we take. That means gathering evidence, pulling crash reports, tracking surveillance footage, working with engineers when needed, and doing everything possible to prove how and why this happened. These cases may involve new technology, but your pain is very real, and so is our commitment to fighting for your recovery.
We are not a billboard law firm churning through clients. Our team believes in walking with you through every step of your recovery. When you hire us, you are not just hiring someone to fill out paperwork or negotiate a quick settlement. You are hiring a team that will stand up to Waymo, Alphabet Inc., insurance adjusters, and anyone who tries to downplay your injuries or shift the blame.
Our attorneys stay ahead of the curve on California’s autonomous vehicle laws and trends. We know how Waymo’s operational design domain (ODD) works, how their fallback systems are supposed to respond when something goes wrong, and how to interpret their crash reports submitted to the California DMV. That knowledge allows us to dig deeper and push harder in every claim we file.
Do You Have a Waymo Car Accident Lawyer Near Me?
Our office is located at 3701 Wilshire Blvd, Ste. 870 in Los Angeles, right on the corner of Serrano Ave. We’re right across the street from Liberty Park and a bus stop, if you cannot travel by car. We have onsite parking behind the building. MKP Law Group, LLP helps people throughout Southern California, including in Long Beach, San Bernadino, Riverside, and all of Orange and Imperial County.
Contact a Waymo Self-Driving Car Accident Lawyer in Los Angeles Today
MKP Law Group, LLP is dedicated to helping you progress with confidence, clarity, and a legal strategy tailored to your circumstances. We offer free consultations and do not charge a single legal fee unless we win your case. That means no upfront costs, hourly rates, or surprises—just straight answers and strong advocacy. Contact us to schedule a free case review. We will review what happened, answer your questions, and tell you how we can help.
Your recovery matters. Let us fight for it together.
