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Google accused of directing motorist to drive off collapsed bridge (www.bbc.com)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Philip Paxson's family are suing the company over his death, alleging that Google negligently failed to show the bridge had fallen nine years earlier.

Mr Paxson died in September 2022 after attempting to drive over the damaged bridge in Hickory, North Carolina.

A spokesperson for Google said the company was reviewing the allegations.

The case was filed in civil court in Wake County on Tuesday.

Mr Paxson, a father of two, was driving home from his daughter's ninth birthday party at a friend's house and was in an unfamiliar neighbourhood at the time of his death, according to the family's lawsuit.

His wife had driven his two daughters home earlier, and he stayed behind to help clean up.

"Unfamiliar with local roads, he relied on Google Maps, expecting it would safely direct him home to his wife and daughters," lawyers for the family said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.

"Tragically, as he drove cautiously in the darkness and rain, he unsuspectingly followed Google's outdated directions to what his family later learned for nearly a decade was called the 'Bridge to Nowhere,' crashing into Snow Creek, where he drowned."

Local residents had repeatedly contacted Google to have them change their online maps after the bridge collapsed in 2013, the suit claims.

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[–] [email protected] 62 points 11 months ago (4 children)

After looking at the picture of the bridge in the article, it looks like it should have either been fixed or blocked by a large only moveable by heavy machinery barrier of some description.

What if someone was using a 15 year old paper map? Would they get to sue the cartographer?
What if the bridge had collapsed yesterday? Last week? As much as I don't like Google, I don't think they're at fault here.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago

A 15 year old paper map doesn’t have the ability to immediately update itself. I don’t think anybody things Google is primarily at fault, that doesn’t mean it should be ignored that they were informed of the dangerous issue numerous times, have the ability to correct it and routinely do so, and ignored the issue in this location which contributed to this death.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago

I completely agree, they should sue the local municipality, whoever is responsible for that bridge.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It says that the residents had repeatedly requested that google update their maps to reflect that the bridge is gone. Not googles fault but they have ignored/missed multiple requests to update their maps so they hold some blame here when you consider that people rely on these types of navigation and google explicitly make google maps to provide help in navigation. I dont think theres nothing there.

It also says the lawsuit includes the suing of three local companies that should have been in charge of maintaining the bridge. So its not even just about google.

[–] can 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Local residents had been trying to get google to correct it for a literal decade. I think they're low on the list of people responsible but it does show a surprising level of negligence. of negligence.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I'm not trying to victim blame or anything here, but I'm wondering if those same people that notified Google notified their local government. The article doesn't mention about that unfortunately so I don't know.