Neima Benavides, et al. v. Tesla, Inc. and George Brian McGee

Miami, Florida personal injury lawyers represented the Plaintiff who sued on a product liability wrongful death theory.



This matter arose from a collision that occurred in Key Largo, Florida. George McGee owned a 2019 Tesla Model S ("Vehicle”) "equipped with automatic driving features, one of which Tesla termed 'Autopilot,' that could navigate without driver input.” ECF No. [205] at 3. On April 25, 2019, McGee was driving the Vehicle when it hit a parked Chevrolet Tahoe, which then struck Decedent Naibel Benavides Leon and Plaintiff Dillon Angulo, killing Benavides Leon and causing

significant injuries to Angulo.



On April 22, 2021, Plaintiff Neima Benavides, as Personal Representative, brought this action against Tesla on behalf of the Estate of Decedent Naibel Benavides Leon in the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Florida, alleging automotive product liability claims against Tesla. ECF No. [1-1]. Tesla removed the action to this Court on May 25, 2021. ECF No. [1]. On August 16, 2022, Plaintiff Dillon Angulo initiated a similar automotive products liability action against

Tesla in this district, Case No. 22-cv-22607-KMM. See 22-cv-22607, ECF No. [1]. The Court accepted the transfer of this case and consolidated both actions due to the overlapping issues presented.



Plaintiffs filed a consolidated Amended Complaint on March 11, 2024, asserting the following claims against Tesla: Strict-Products-Liability—Defective Design (Count I), Failure to Warn (Count II), Defective Manufacture (Count III), and Negligent Misrepresentation (Count IV).



On June 25, 2025, the Court granted summary judgment in favor of Tesla as to Count III (Defective Manufacture) and Count IV (Negligent Misrepresentation) while allowing Count I (Defective Design) and Count II (Failure to Warn) to proceed to trial.

A jury in Miami has determined that Tesla should be held partly liable for a fatal 2019 Autopilot crash, and must compensate the family of the deceased and an injured survivor a portion of $329 million in damages.



Tesla’s payout is based on $129 million in compensatory damages, and $200 million in punitive damages against the company.