Don't follow the path shown by Google Maps blindly! A person lost his life, his family filed a case

In North Carolina, America, an incident of a person dying while following directions from Google Maps has come to light. According to reports, a person lost his life after falling about 20 feet while driving through a broken bridge while following the route from Google Maps. The incident occurred on September 30, 2022, when Philip Paxson was traveling through an unfamiliar route, and reportedly relied on Google Maps to find his way. He was a medical equipment salesman and a veteran of the U.S. Navy and was driving home from his daughter's ninth birthday party.

The family of the deceased has filed a lawsuit against the technology giant alleging negligence. The lawsuit also blames two other businesses and an individual in the incident. However, one might wonder whether the broken bridge would have been visible to the driver. But the lawsuit claims Paxson was driving during inclement weather on a dark and rainy evening. In fact, police noted that the bridge had no barriers, warning signs or other features to alert drivers to the danger.

The bridge that Paxson died in collapsed nearly a decade ago and has been impassable since then. The lawsuit claims that Google Maps did not remove it from its route guide maps despite receiving numerous calls for it. Specifically, the family of the deceased has also added the bridge's owners, Tarde, LLC, James Tarleton and Hinckley Gauvain, LLC, to the lawsuit.

However, officials noted that the bridge was not maintained by local or state officials and that the original developer's company was dissolved.

Google spokesman Jose Castaneda expressed condolences to the family and confirmed that the company is actively reviewing the lawsuit. The spokesperson underlined the importance of addressing safety concerns to prevent similar tragedies in the future and said the company's primary goal is to provide accurate route information in Google Maps.

However, this tragic incident has raised questions over the accuracy of Google Maps and the practice of blindly following its guidance on routes.