Google Maps led a man to a broken bridge who then drowned. His family is now suing Google

The family of a North Carolina man has sued technology giant Google for negligence after he died as he drove off a collapsed bridge while following Google Maps directions. Citing a lawsuit, a report by the news agency Associated Press early Thursday (September 21) said that Philip Paxson drowned on September 30, 2022, after his Jeep Gladiator plunged into Snow Creek in Hickory.

Paxson, a medical salesperson and father of two, was driving home from his daughter's ninth birthday party through an unfamiliar neighbourhood when Google Maps allegedly directed him to cross a bridge that had collapsed nine years prior and was never repaired.

Troopers found Paxson's body in his overturned and partially submerged Gladiator truck. They said that there were no barriers or warning signs along the washed-out roadway.

What does the lawsuit say?

According to the lawsuit,several people had notified Google Maps about the collapse (of the bridge) in the years leading up to Paxson's death and urged Google to update its route information. The lawsuit named several property management companies that it claimed were responsible for the bridge and the adjoining land.

The North Carolina State Patrol, meanwhile, said that the bridge was not maintained by local or state officials, and the original developer's company had dissolved.

The report said that Tuesday's court filing included email records from another Hickory resident who used the map's “suggest an edit” feature in September 2020 to alert the company that it was directing drivers over the collapsed bridge.

A mail from Google in November 2020 confirmed that the company received the resident's report and was reviewing the suggested change. However, the lawsuit said that Google took no further action.

Reviewing the lawsuit: Google

Speaking to the Associated Press, Google spokesperson José Castañeda said, "We have the deepest sympathies for the Paxson family." Castañeda said that Google was reviewing the lawsuit, and the company's goal is to provide accurate routing information in Maps.

Paxson's family is seeking an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages following Philip's death, a report by CBS News 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,” his wife Alicia Paxson said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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