The family of a US man who perished after driving off a bridge that had fallen said that he did so because Google's maps were out of date.
The family of Philip Paxson is suing Google for Philip Paxson's death, claiming that Google negligently failed to show the bridge had fallen nine years earlier.
After attempting to cross the broken bridge in Hickory, North Carolina, Paxson passed away in September 2022.
Google was looking into the claims, according to a representative.
Tuesday saw the filing of the complaint in Wake County civil court.
According to the family's complaint, Paxson, a father of two, was in an unknown neighborhood as he was making his way home after his daughter's ninth birthday celebration at a friend's house.
His wife had previously driven their two girls home, and he remained to assist with cleanup.
He relied on Google Maps since he was unfamiliar with the area's roads and thought it would safely guide him home to his wife and girls, according to the family's attorneys in a statement announcing the case.
He tragically followed Google's out-of-date directions to what his family subsequently learned for nearly a decade was named the "Bridge to Nowhere," crashed into Snow Creek, and was killed there while driving slowly in the dark and rain.
After the bridge collapsed in 2013, the lawsuit asserts that local people contacted Google many times to request that they modify their online maps.
The bridge collapsed nine years before his death.
Barriers that were normally placed across the bridge entrance were missing due to vandalism, according to the Charlotte Observer.
The lawsuit is also suing three local companies, arguing they had a duty to maintain the bridge.