The family of a man who tragically died in a Tesla vehicle is taking legal action against Elon Musk’s company, claiming he was trapped in a fire.
Michael Sheehan, 47, allegedly became stuck inside his Cybertruck when the battery ignited. His family contends that the intense 5,000-degree blaze caused his bones to disintegrate.
Following his untimely death, Sheehan’s family has initiated a wrongful death lawsuit.
The accident occurred in Texas when Sheehan’s vehicle veered off the road and collided with a culvert.
The vehicle’s ‘hyper volatile’ battery system reportedly went into ‘thermal runaway,’ a sequence of short-circuits that leads to uncontrollable temperature rise.
“He was eight inches shorter in length than he was before he burned,” attorney S. Scott West shared with The Independent. “That’s thermal fracture.”
The lawsuit argues that the Tesla vehicle was ‘defectively designed’ and should not have prevented Sheehan’s escape.
It further claims that the truck’s electronic doors are challenging to open once power is lost, and the manual handles are ‘unreasonably difficult to locate in an emergency.’
“This was a single-vehicle crash,” the petition asserts.
“The crash forces were survivable… except for the fire, ergonomic shortcomings, and deficient crashworthiness.”
West stated: “It is the most excruciating and longest torture of any death. Whether it’s steam or fire or electrical, the nerves are literally exposed to everything.
“It’s horrific. If you’ve ever been to a hospital burn unit, you’ll hear patients begging the doctors to let them die because the pain is so bad.
“Michael was a Mensa-level guy, very, very smart.
“But when Tesla delivered this [Cybertruck] to him, the instructions they gave him were woefully inadequate to handle a situation like this.”
An obituary for Sheehan describes him as a ‘brilliant’ individual.
It reads: “Michael was absolutely brilliant, and admired by many. He had an amazing career in healthcare, progressing from a RN, to RNFA, and FNP. The majority of his career was the care of patients in Aortic Surgery and Aortic Reconstruction, Urology, and Cardiothoracic Transplantation and Circulatory Support.
“He was an excellent cook. He loved cooking for his wife and friends. There wasn’t a recipe he wouldn’t attempt, and he became quite a food critic. He had a love for animals, and they were drawn to his gentle spirit.
“Michael enjoyed hiking, snowboarding, being around and in water, boating, camping, and Zombie movies.
“Michael was an amazing husband, son, sibling and friend. Words cannot express the deep sorrow and devastation we feel in losing him.”
The publication has reached out to Tesla for a comment.