Harcourt

Harcourt v. Tesla CA6

Good Law
Court of Appeal of CaliforniaMarch 4, 2026H052308California4,614 words

Opinion

Opinion

Bromberg, J.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Incident

On December 23, 2018, Harcourt, who was then eight-and-a-half months pregnant, purchased a Model X. Four days later, she parked the car in her driveway. Leaving her purse with the key fob for the car in the car, Harcourt took B.H., her two- and-a-half-year-old son, out of his car seat and proceeded with him toward the house. Finding she did not have her house key, Harcourt returned with B.H. to the car, but before finding the key she realized that B.H.’s diaper needed to be changed. Harcourt therefore opened the driver’s side rear car door to retrieve the diaper bag and the driver’s door to press the garage door opener. Leaving both car doors open—and the key fob in the car— Harcourt and B.H. walked toward the garage so that Harcourt could change his diaper there. As Harcourt began setting up the changing pad, she realized that B.H. was not with her and that the Model X was moving toward her. Harcourt pivoted toward the vehicle in an effort to make it “see her” and stop. However, the front bumper struck Harcourt on the bottom of her abdomen, picked her up, and pushed her back until it pinned her against the wall. Harcourt suffered fractures to her…

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