User dies because of "listening to Google Maps", Google is sued

The unfortunate man, Philip Paxson, was a medical equipment salesman and father of two. The accident happened in September 2022 when he was driving home from his daughter's ninth birthday party.

According to the lawsuit filed on September 19 in Wake County Superior Court, Mr. Paxson drowned on September 30, 2022, after his Jeep Gladiator went into the Snow Creek Bridge in Hickory City on a dark and rainy night.

Mr. Paxson's car plunged about 20 feet into the water. Authorities found his body in the overturned, flooded truck.

Người dùng thiệt mạng vì nghe theo Google Maps, Google bị kiện - Ảnh 1.

Mr. Philip Paxson and his wife (Mrs. Alicia). Photo: Sky News

The Associated Press reported that Paxson was driving home on an unfamiliar road when the accident occurred. He used Google Maps for directions, and the Google mapping service reportedly directed him across the Snow Creek Bridge, which collapsed nine years ago and has never been repaired.

The bridge has no barriers or warning signs along the road.

Paxson's family is suing tech giant Google for negligence. Paxson's relatives claim that Google was notified of the bridge collapse but failed to update its navigation system.

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Mr. Paxton's car plunged into the water. Photo: WCNC

"Our daughters ask why their father died. I don't know what to say to them so they can understand because I don't understand how the people responsible for the map service and the bridge could care so little about human life," Paxson's wife, Alicia Paxson, told the AP.

The North Carolina State Patrol said the bridge was not maintained by local officials and the original construction company had gone bankrupt.

According to the lawsuit, because the bridge collapsed more than nine years ago, many people reported it to Google Maps, urging the company to update route information on the application.

Người dùng thiệt mạng vì nghe theo Google Maps, Google bị kiện - Ảnh 3.

Many people have reported it to Google Maps, urging the company to update information about the bridge. Photo: WCNC

According to the lawsuit, a Hickory resident said he used the map's "suggest edit" feature in September 2020 to alert the company that Google Maps was directing drivers over the collapsed bridge.

A November 2020 email from Google confirmed that the company had received the resident’s report and was reviewing the proposed change, but Google has taken no further action since then.

"We have the deepest sympathy for Mr. Paxson's family. Our goal is to provide accurate routing information in Google Maps and we are reviewing this lawsuit," Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said.

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