Jeffrey Bauer, a 54-year-old man, and his 55-year-old wife Michelle Bauer, residents of Crandon, Wisconsin, lost their lives as a result of an accident that occurred on November 1, 2024 in the Madison suburb of Verona. As a result of the incident, their car, a Tesla Model S, drove off the road, hit a tree and burst into flames. The couple died the next day.
According to a lawsuit filed by the four Bauer children, cited by Reuters, A lithium-ion battery failure played a key role in the tragedy. As a result of the damage, the electronic door system stopped working, preventing passengers from getting out of the burning vehicle. The victims' family claims that Tesla was aware of the risk of such failures based on previous fire incidents, but failed to take appropriate action to prevent similar tragedies.
The lawsuit also alleges that passengers sitting in the back seats of the Model S, as Michelle Bauer allegedly did, are particularly vulnerable because they have to lift the carpet to find a metal tab to open the doors. The victims' family accuses Tesla that such a design solution is unintuitive and could have contributed to the death.
Door handle problems in Tesla vehicles
As Reuters reminds, in September the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced an investigation into possible defects in door handles in Tesla cars. Previous reports indicated that door handles may break, making it difficult or impossible to exit the vehicle in emergency situations.
This is yet another lawsuit against Tesla in connection with tragic accidents. The families of two students who died in a Cybertruck crash last November in a San Francisco suburb also blamed the manufacturer for faulty door handle designs that prevented people from escaping from the burning vehicle.
