The family of a man who died after driving his car off a collapsed bridge while following the directions of Google Maps is suing the technology company for negligence.
The family claims Google had been notified about the collapse in Hickory, North Carolina, but did not update its navigation system.
According to a lawsuit filed recently, Philip Paxson, a medical device salesman and father of two, drowned on September 30, 2022, after his Jeep Gladiator plunged into a creek.
Paxson was driving home after his daughter’s 9th birthday party through an unfamiliar neighbourhood when he was directed by Google Maps to cross a bridge that had collapsed nine years earlier and was never repaired.
Alicia Paxson, his wife, said: “Our girls ask how and why their daddy died, and I’m at a loss for words they can understand because, as an adult, I still can’t understand how those responsible for the GPS directions and the bridge could have acted with so little regard for human life.”
Police who discovered Paxton’s body in his overturned and partially submerged truck had revealed there were no barriers or warning signs along the bad roadway. According to the lawsuit, he had driven off an unguarded edge and crashed about 20 feet below.
The North Carolina State Patrol had disclosed the bridge was not maintained by local or state officials, and the original developer’s company had ceased to exist. The lawsuit names several private property management companies that are responsible for the bridge and the adjoining land.
The lawsuit also stated that many people had notified Google Maps about the collapse years before Paxson’s death and had urged the company to update its route information.
The court filing includes email records from another Hickory resident who used the map’s ‘suggest an edit’ feature in September 2020 to notify the company that it was directing drivers over the collapsed bridge.
A November 2020 email confirmation from Google confirms the company got her report and was reviewing the suggested change, but the lawsuit claims Google did not act further.
Google spokesperson José Castañeda said: “We have the deepest sympathies for the Paxson family”
“Our goal is to provide accurate routing information in Maps and we are reviewing this lawsuit.”
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