Family Files Lawsuit Against Google As Map Directions Results In Fatal Accident

Image Courtesy: Reuters

New Delhi: A family in the US has sued Google after a man belonging to the family died after driving his car off a collapsed bridge following directions from Google Maps. In September last year, Philip Paxson drowned after his vehicle plunged off a bridge in Hickory, North Carolina that collapsed in 2013, reports USA Today.

In a lawsuit filed against Google's parent company Alphabet this week, Paxson's wife Alicia alleged that “Google Maps directed him to cross the Snow Creek Bridge” as he drove through an “unfamiliar neighbourhood heading home from his daughter's ninth birthday party”. ()

The Navy veteran's body was found by state troopers “in an upside down and partially submerged truck”. Paxson drove off an unguarded edge crashing 20 feet below, read the court filing states. ()

There were no warning signs or barriers present along the roadway. "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," Alicia was quoted as saying.

In the years leading up to Paxson's death, “Google Maps had been notified several times by people urging Google to update its route information,” according to the lawsuit.

A Google spokesperson was quoted as saying that the company has the deepest sympathies for the Paxson family.“Our goal is to provide accurate routing information in Maps and we are reviewing this lawsuit,” the spokesperson added.