Arizona woman sues food delivery robot company for injuries

TEMPE, Ariz. (NBC, KYMA) - A Tempe, Arizona woman has sued Starship Technologies, alleging one of the company's autonomous food delivery robots knocked her to the ground while she was working as a parking attendant at an Arizona State University (ASU) parking garage in the fall of 2023.

Trudy Perez, who was 73-years-old when it happened, said she suffered serious injuries, including a spinal fracture.

According to the lawsuit, the robot crossed in front of her but as she walked behind it the robot reversed and knocked her to the ground.

A report by the ASU Police Department states moments after Perez was knocked down, the delivery vehicle drove away, but then went into reverse a second time.

The responding officer documented a cut on her arm.

"That means that they are responsible for not injuring other people wrongly, and also, you know, if somebody damages the robot, they can be held liable as well," said Josh Kolsrud, an attorney.

The lawsuit says Perez was later was diagnosed with a spinal fracture while the report says Starship provided video footage from the robot to the police.

Kolsrud says Arizona law requires that the delivery robots to be remotely monitored by a human operator.

"[This includes] having insurance of at least $100,000 on each robot, as well as having a human, a real person that's monitoring the robot itself," he added.

Perez is now suing Starship, alleging the company failed to safely operate the robot.

Vrana Law Firm, who is representing Perez, issued a statement, saying in part, "Ms. Perez suffered serious injuries when a Starship robot suddenly changed direction, reversed into her, and knocked her to the ground. She sustained a spinal fracture, among other injuries, resulting in lifelong impairment."

Legal experts say cases like this could push autonomous technology companies to make their products safer.

"If companies see that they're going to lose a lot of money if they don't make these products safer, they have to fix it. Period," Kolsrud expressed.