Tesla to pay $42 million for employee crash that injured motorcyclist

An Indiana jury has found electric vehicle maker Tesla and one of its employees partially responsible for a 2017 crash between a Ford company truck and a motorcycle that left the rider with a partial amputation, permanent disfigurement and traumatic brain injury.

Tesla and employee Kyle Kasuba must pay more than $42 million in restitution to victim Christopher Duggan, a Marion County jury said in a verdict Wednesday.

The jury found Duggan 30 percent responsible for the crash, reducing the award from $60 million to $42 million. Duggan’s lawyers had it is reported seeking a $191 million prize.

The crash occurred while Kasuba was driving a 2014 Ford vehicle owned by or authorized by Tesla, or while working in his capacity as an employee of Tesla, Duggan alleged in his original complaint.

Duggan had exited a gas station in Indianapolis and was in the “right lane” when Kasuba, driving a Tesla-owned Ford Super Duty, “carelessly” drove the vehicle across two lanes of traffic while attempting to turn into a parking lot near the gas station , according to the complaint.

Kasuba allegedly rammed the truck into Dugan’s motorcycle, throwing Dugan from the motorcycle and causing Dugan to suffer devastating injuries — “a direct and proximate result of the negligence of the defendants, Tesla, Inc., and Kyle Kasuba,” according to the complaint.

Attorneys for Tesla at Quinn Emanuel argued that Kaszuba was not negligent in his actions and that Dugan was following a vehicle so closely that it was difficult for Tesla employees to see him, according to Courtroom Review Network. Duggan’s attorney, Nick Rowley, argued Kasuba was in a rush to get to work, according to CVN.

The gas station near where the crash happened is just off the ramp to I-465, the beltway that bypasses Indianapolis.

Tesla did not immediately return a request for comment.

— CNBC’s Laura Kolodny contributed to this report.