Negligence Lawsuit Filed Against Google in Connection with Death Due to Google Maps Instructions

In late September, one woman sued Google for negligence after her husband drove off of a collapsed bridge and died after following Google Maps directions. The bridge had reportedly collapsed nine years earlier, but was never barricaded, repaired, or noted as collapsed on Google Maps. As a result, it continued to direct drivers to cross the bridge even though the company had been notified that it was no longer intact. A number of others had reportedly only narrowly escaped the same fate.

Now, more than six months after this tragic incident, Google Maps reportedly still showed the bridge as passable. His widow is suing Google and its parent company, Alphabet, as well as local government entities in charge of upkeep on the bridge, in connection with his wrongful death. According to reports, the bridge had no artificial lighting and the area was pitch black at the time.

Duties & Responsibilities

When entities like Google take it upon themselves to provide driving and routing instructions to people, the company takes on the responsibility of ensuring that those driving instructions do not cause harm to people – i.e. that they do not bring about tragedy of this nature. The company developed, designed, edited, maintained, profited and promoted their mapping and navigation application, and had a duty to ensure that it was accurate. In general, the company took on a number of duties in releasing a product like this to the public, such as to timely update their maps, especially when notified of hazards posed by their navigation routes, and to review and investigate map errors from citizens and users that have the potential to endanger the public.

In addition, those responsible for the bridge had a duty to maintain the bridge itself or erect and maintain proper barricades and/or warning signs which identify hazards on the land for the public. There is no question that the bridge was in a dangerous, defective, and hazardous condition at the time of the accident, and had been for years, with plenty of notice and warning to those responsible for it. Yet they failed in their duties to properly maintain and provide upkeep so as to keep the public safe.

The family is now not only seeking compensatory, but also punitive damages as well.

If You’ve Lost A Loved One in an Accident, Contact Our Macon, Georgia Injury & Wrongful Death Attorneys Today

If you or a loved one has been harmed in an accident as a result of negligence, you should speak with the Macon car accident attorneys at the Law Offices of Buzzell, Welsh & Hill today to schedule a free consultation and find out more about our services and how we can help ensure that justice is done.

Source:

cbsnews.com/news/google-sued-negligence-maps-driver-died-collapsed-bridge-north-carolina-hickory/