Waymo: The Future of Self-Driving Cars & What It Means for Global Innova...

Reinhard von Hennigs discusses Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, known for its pioneering work in self-driving technology aimed at revolutionizing transportation with fully autonomous vehicles.

He shares his experience with Waymo in Phoenix and delves into the company's vision for seamless and efficient mobility.

Reinhard highlights legal and regulatory challenges, such as liability and compliance issues, within and beyond the U.S.

He emphasizes the importance for businesses to innovate and integrate AI while considering ethical implications and maintaining their reputation. Lessons from Waymo's journey can provide valuable insights for businesses navigating automation and AI advancements.

Gwyneth Paltrow VS Terry Sanderson

Sanderson accused Paltrow of "slamming" into him, while skiing. He claimed this crash left him with broken ribs and symptoms of a brain injury. Sanderson sued for $ 3 million.

 

The Chinese Connection 2

 We proudly present part 2 of the Chinese Connection. Let us know your thoughts.

Thank you, Colin Verba and Judgement War Productions LLC

The Gas Shortage Caused A State of Emergency in North Carolina

 

The Gas Shortage Caused A State of Emergency in North Carolina

How Are They Handling It?

Due to the ransomware cyber-attack on the Colonial Pipeline, the Governors of North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and Florida declared a state of emergency. The Colonial Pipeline supplies over 45% of the fuel to the east coast, causing a massive gasoline shortage in many States.

North Carolina’s Governor, Roy Cooper, declared a state of emergency on May 10, 2021. As of publishing this (May 14, 2021), the Colonial Pipeline is back online, but many gas stations are still out of gasoline because of frantic buying.

To speed up the recovery process, North Carolina’s Executive Order 213 not only declared a state of emergency but also temporarily suspended certain regulations for fuel trucks and their drivers.

Suspended Regulations

The Executive Order waives many safety regulations for truckers carrying gasoline. Including maximum hours a trucker can drive. Normally, a trucker in North Carolina can only drive 11 hours within a 14-hour window and must wait another 10 hours before driving again.

Another waived regulation is the size and weight regulations and penalties for vehicles supporting the emergency relief efforts to the state by transporting gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other refined petroleum. Not all size and weight regulations/penalties have gotten waived. To find out about the regulations, click here.

These waived rules will be in place for 30 days or until the end of the state of emergency, whatever is less.

Liability

The government placed these restrictions on truck drivers to limit crashes caused by tired drivers or oversized trucks. With these regulations temporarily waived, it leads to the question of liability if there is a crash involving a trucker.

Right now, it is not clear who the bulk of the liability will fall on. Will it be the truck driver? The trucking company? The government? Hopefully, we don’t have a situation like this play out, but it is always good to think ahead.

Read our other blogs for updates on global business, law, and more!

Debris From a Chinese Rocket Is Falling Towards Earth

 

Debris From a Chinese Rocket Is Falling Towards Earth

Who Is Liable If It Injures Someone?

Photo: STR/AFP

Long March 5B is a Chinese rocket launched into space on April 28th. Now, debris from the rocket is expected to crash back down to earth, with the largest piece of debris being around 100 feet long (the length of a basketball court). If it manages to land on earth, it will be one of the largest pieces of space debris ever to do so.

When will this happen? It is uncertain, but it’s speculated to occur between late Saturday (5/8) and early Sunday (5/9). It is also entirely unknown where the debris will land. Estimates say that the landing will be between 41.5 degrees North and 41.5 degrees south. Roughly between New York City and New Zealand. As a law firm, our attorneys’ immediate thoughts were: “who is liable if the debris causes damages or injures?”

Who is Liable?

There are clear rules on this since human-made space debris is nothing new. Just last year, Long March 5B also dropped space debris on the African Nation the Ivory Coast. In 1979, fragments of the US space station, Skylab, crashed onto Australia, and the year prior, a Soviet satellite, Cosmos 954, fell onto Canada, leaving radioactive debris all over the area.

International Space laws provide a compensation plan for human-made space debris that falls to earth. This law was enacted during the 1972 liability convention by the UN and places liability on the “launching state” for damages caused by the debris. In this particular situation, this would cast liability onto China. This law has only been enacted once before and that was on the Soviet Union when their satellite fell onto Canada.

It is unlikely that the debris will cause any damages or injuries, however. The earth is 70% water, and if the debris does hit land, most of the land on earth is uninhabited.

Check out more of our blog here!

Check out our Morning Musing on this same topic!

What can the $20 Million Lowe's Lawsuit Teach Other Businesses

 

What can the $20 million Lowe's Lawsuit Teach Other Businesses

A lawsuit was filed recently against Lowes seeking $20 million USD in damages. This case shows how easily even a high-level corporation can run into trouble in these difficult times.

So, what happened?

At a Lowe's store in California, a customer encountered a man on the same aisle but not wearing a face mask. Out of concern for his health and the health of others, the customer asked the man to put on a mask. Since the customer had underlying health conditions, it is understandable that he was taking the executive order seriously and wanting others to do so as well.

According to the lawsuit, the customer asked the man multiple times to wear a mask. When those requests failed, the customer went to a Lowe's employee and asked him to do address the unmasked man. The Lowe's employee did nothing. Upon the Lowe’s employee’s failure to intervene, as the customer was calling the police, the maskless man spat in the customer’s face four times in rapid succession. As such, the customer is now suing Lowe's for not properly protecting its customers by allowing a maskless man into its store.

What can you as a company do to protect yourself from liability in lawsuits?

The lawsuit demonstrates that whatever steps Lowe’s had taken previously regarding in-store safety and mask-wearing, those procedures appear to have broken down to the point that the lawsuit states that, effectively, Lowe’s had NO policy. If Lowe’s had such policies and protocols in place, a relevant question is whether the employee followed such policies and protocols.

The takeaway is that businesses must have rules and procedures in place for a myriad of difficult situations in these trying and stressful times. Specific to mask-wearing, it is critical to have a coherent policy in place. Once you have those procedures in place, you must clearly communicate them to every employee and train for and practice them. Doing this is an excellent way to limit conflicts and the potential for future liability.

With COVID-19 still very prevalent, the last thing that any business needs a lawsuit. Be sure to have rules and procedures in place for COVID-19, as well as any other situation that could possibly result in a lawsuit.

In conclusion 

An unmasked man went into Lowe's and spat on a customer attempting to protect himself and others. The customer alleges that Lowe's failed to have proper protocols in place to stop unmasked individuals from entering the store and then to protect other customers upon entering the store. It is critical for businesses to document the policies and procedurals put into place, and also critical to ensure that employees are equipped to implement and execute on such policies and procedures. If you have any further questions, contact BridgehouseLaw.

This article was inspired by a Morning Musings video. To watch it, click here.

To read another article on this situation click here.

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