Lawsuit filed against Google, Private Road Owners, After Motorist Misguided By Dangerously Outdated Google Maps Fatally Crashed Off North Carolina 'Bridge to Nowhere'
HICKORY, N.C., Sept. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Google is among the defendants named in a negligence lawsuit filed yesterday alleging that the September 30, 2022, drowning death of North Carolina motorist Philip Paxson occurred because directions from Google Maps misguided him to his death over a long collapsed bridge. Mr. Paxson's family is represented by the Philadelphia-based law firm Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky and the lawsuit (A. Paxson v. Google, LLC, Tarde, LLC, et al./ 23CV026335-910) was filed in North Carolina Superior Court, Wake County by local co-counsel from the Ricci Law Firm.
- The incident occurred shortly after he and his family moved from Florida to Hickory, North Carolina.
- Unfamiliar with local roads, he relied on Google Maps, expecting it would safely direct him home to his wife and daughters.
- His trust in Google Maps, and the failure of the road and bridge-keepers to do their jobs, cost him his life."
- Shockingly, even after Google was made aware of this death, the collapsed bridge was still depicted on Google Maps as a passable road.