Negligent Google? Family sues tech giant after man drives off collapsed bridge to death following Google Maps

A North Carolina man’s family is taking legal action against Google, blaming the tech giant for negligence after it failed to update its navigation system about a bridge collapse due to which man drove off the bridge and drowned to his death.

Philip Paxson, a medical device salesman and father of two, lost his life on September 30, 2022. He was driving his Jeep Gladiator in Hickory when he followed Google Maps’ directions and ended up driving off a bridge into Snow Creek. This bridge had collapsed nine years earlier and had never been repaired.

In a heartfelt statement, Alicia Paxson, his wife, expressed her frustration, saying, “Our daughters ask how and why their daddy died, and I struggle to find words they can grasp. Even as an adult, I can’t comprehend how those responsible for the GPS directions and the bridge could show so little concern for human life.”

When state troopers discovered Paxson’s overturned and partially submerged truck, they noted that there were no barriers or warning signs on the road where the bridge had collapsed. Paxson had driven off an unprotected edge and crashed about 20 feet below, as detailed in the lawsuit.

The North Carolina State Patrol confirmed that neither local nor state authorities were responsible for maintaining the bridge, and the original developer’s company had ceased operations. The lawsuit identifies several private property management firms as being accountable for the bridge and the adjacent land.

The lawsuit asserts that multiple individuals had informed Google Maps about the bridge collapse in the years leading up to Paxson’s tragic accident, urging the company to update its route information. The court filing on Tuesday includes email records from a Hickory resident who, in September 2020, used the map’s “suggest and edit” feature to alert Google about directing drivers over the collapsed bridge. Google confirmed receipt of her report in a November 2020 email but, according to the lawsuit, took no further action.

Google, headquartered in California but with a registered office in Raleigh, has not yet commented on the lawsuit, according to a spokesperson.