A Model 3 defect lawsuit in Washington state claims that design flaws in the Tesla Model 3 led to a fatal crash and fire that killed one passenger and left the driver with severe injuries.
According to a complaint recently filed in U.S. District Court for Western Washington, Jeff Dennis and his wife Wendy Dennis were driving their Tesla Model 3 in January 2023 when the vehicle allegedly experienced sudden, unexplained acceleration that lasted more than five seconds. While steering to avoid other vehicles, Jeff Dennis crashed into a utility pole. The car then caught fire, killing Wendy Dennis at the scene and leaving Jeff Dennis with severe leg burns and other serious injuries.
The lawsuit alleges that a design defect in the Model 3 battery pack caused the fire after the collision. The family also claims that the vehicle’s door design prevented rescuers and bystanders from opening the doors and saving the occupants during the fire.
The Model 3 uses an electronic door release system that stops working when battery power is lost, making the exterior handles inoperable. Although a manual release exists inside the vehicle, it is small and not easy to see, leading critics to argue that it is effectively unusable during an emergency such as a fire.
Witnesses at the scene reported that, as flames spread from the vehicle, they pulled on the door handles but could not get them to work. They also found it difficult to break the windows because the heat from the fire made it hard to approach the car.
The lawsuit further claims that the automatic emergency braking (AEB) system did not activate. The family states, “The vehicle is designed to apply automatic braking when a collision is unavoidable, yet no braking occurred.”
The Model 3 defect lawsuit notes that this is not the first controversy over Tesla door design. Last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into potential defects involving the electronic door handles on the Tesla Model Y. More recently, a separate lawsuit in California involving two college students who died in a fire-related crash alleged that the doors would not open, preventing the occupants from escaping the vehicle.
BY HOONSIK WOO [woo.hoonsik@koreadaily.com]
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