New innovation-new liability challenges: a comparative civil liability framework for eVTOL malfunction

Purpose This study aims to examine whether existing civil liability regimes are capable of responding adequately to accidents involving electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOLs) and considers how liability allocation may be structured to support the safe and commercially viable deployment of urban air mobility services. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a qualitative doctrinal and comparative approach. It analyses relevant principles of tort law, product liability and aviation liability across the USA, the European Union and the United Arab Emirates, with particular focus on harm arising from software malfunction, autonomous or semi-autonomous operations, infrastructure failure and multi-party service delivery models. Findings This study finds that existing liability frameworks are only partially equipped to address eVTOL-related harm. Conventional fault-based rules and existing aviation liability instruments were developed for more traditional forms of carriage and do not adequately reflect distributed operational control, algorithmic decision-making or the fragmented contractual structure of eVTOL markets. This study argues for a tiered liability framework based on functional control, under which manufacturers and software developers would bear strict liability for design and software defects, operators would remain responsible for operational and maintenance failures and infrastructure providers would face presumptive responsibility where vertiport or support system failures materially contribute to damage. Originality/value This study contributes to emerging eVTOL scholarship by framing civil liability as an element of market governance and risk allocation rather than merely a remedial mechanism. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first of its kind to do so. It further advances a UAE-focused reform model combining presumption of causality, mandatory insurance and specialised dispute resolution.