Delivery Robot Collisions Raise Liability Questions
Incidents with pedestrians and property in the U.S., U.K. and South Korea are prompting disputes over who pays for damages.
Updated on Nov. 7, 2026 in Robotics
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Delivery robots and pedestrians continue to collide in the U.S. and U.K., raising liability disputes that vary by case. South Korea's Road Traffic Act now requires liability insurance for outdoor mobile robot operators.
Why it matters
Liability for robot accidents depends on sensor defects, AI judgment errors or operator negligence, which vary case by case, leaving victims and companies uncertain about who pays. South Korea's insurance requirement offers one approach as sidewalk robot operations expand.
South Korea's Road Traffic Act sets mandatory robot liability insurance at 150 million won for death or permanent disability, 30 million won for injury and 1 billion won per property damage accident. The Arizona claim and Living Streets' dispute with Starship over video context have not been resolved.
The players
Starship Technologies
A delivery robot company that disputed the Living Streets video and argued the victim was at fault in the Arizona accident.
Living Streets
A U.K. pedestrian advocacy organization that demanded a ban on delivery robots on sidewalks until regulations are established.
The details
Living Streets released a September campaign video showing a wheelchair user colliding with a delivery robot and demanded a ban on sidewalk operations until regulations are set. Starship Technologies disputed the claims, saying some edits distorted the context, while a 73-year-old woman injured in a 2023 accident at Arizona State University filed a damages claim after she says a reversing robot knocked her over. In Goyang City, a police patrol robot broke more than 20 flowerpots after failing to recognize the lower part of a table as an obstacle.
Timeline
2023: A 73-year-old woman is injured in a delivery robot accident at Arizona State University.
March: Subrobotics and Cocorobotics delivery robots collide with a Chicago bus stop glass wall; both companies agree to cover repairs.
September: Living Streets releases its campaign video and a Goyang City police robot collides with a table.
February next year: Jury trial scheduled in the Arizona case.
Big Picture
South Korea's Road Traffic Act now requires liability insurance for outdoor mobile robot operators, a model that contrasts with the case-by-case liability disputes emerging in the U.S. and U.K. The EU's revised product liability rules, which member states must reflect in domestic law by December 9, may further shape how such cases are handled.
Pedestrians, wheelchair users and property owners who share sidewalks with delivery robots may face injury or damage with unclear recourse depending on where they live. Knowing whether an operator must carry mandatory liability insurance, as in South Korea, can determine how a claim is pursued.
The takeaway
Liability for robot accidents is not yet standardized, so people sharing sidewalks with delivery robots should document incidents and check whether the operator carries insurance. Clear statutory rules, like South Korea's, reduce uncertainty for victims and operators alike.
What happens next
The jury trial in the Arizona delivery robot case is scheduled for February next year, and EU member states must reflect revised product liability rules in domestic law by December 9.
Further reading
For related coverage of machines operating among people, see the Robotics section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by 조선일보.
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Should delivery robots be banned from local sidewalks until safety rules are in place?
