A New Jersey woman is suing Volvo Car USA and a Volvo employee after she says a hands-free power tailgate struck her in the head and left her with a traumatic brain injury. The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court of New Jersey in Ocean County, stems from an October 2023 hiking trip where plaintiff Megan Kohr was standing behind a Volvo SUV with its tailgate open.
According to the complaint, a motion sensor under the rear bumper interpreted the movement of a dog walking behind the vehicle as a command to close the tailgate, which then allegedly swung shut and hit Kohr. She claims ongoing vision and balance problems, sensitivity to light and permanent injury, and is seeking damages for medical costs, lost income and long-term pain and suffering.
Volvo
What the lawsuit says went wrong
The SUV was equipped with a hands-free tailgate that can open or close with a simple kicking motion when the key is nearby. Kohr’s suit argues that the system is too easily triggered by unintended movement, including animals, and that it lacked adequate safeguards to prevent the tailgate from closing on someone standing in the opening.
Her legal team also points to Volvo documentation describing “pinch protection” that is supposed to stop or reverse the tailgate if it encounters an obstruction, and says the fact it allegedly kept closing on her head shows a defect in design or performance. The employee named in the suit, a Volvo worker who was driving the company vehicle and owns the dog involved, is accused of negligence for allowing the dog to walk under the rear bumper despite knowing the sensor could activate the tailgate.
Volvo, for its part, has moved to dismiss the claims against the company, arguing that the employee was off duty on a private outing, that the complaint fails to spell out a specific legal duty Volvo owed to Kohr, and that the allegations against the automaker are too vague to proceed.
Volvo
Why it matters for Volvo and smart tailgates
The case comes as Volvo leans harder into its safety-first image and pushes more advanced SUVs and crossovers into the market, from bread-and-butter models attracting shoppers with current Volvo XC60 lease deals to wagon-like crossovers like the returning Volvo XC70. It also comes at a time when Volvo is recalling vehicles for an oddly specific reason.
Beyond this one lawsuit, the dispute highlights a growing tension around convenience tech, that systems like kick-to-open tailgates are marketed as hands-free helpers in busy driveways and parking lots, but when they misread motion or fail to stop on contact, they can quickly become a safety and liability problem. Automakers of all kinds may face more pressure to show not just how these features work in ideal conditions, but how they behave around kids, pets and cluttered real-world environments.
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