According to a published report by the Hickory Daily Record, Google is in the process of reviewing a lawsuit filed by a Hickory woman who says the company’s negligence contributed to her husband’s death.
Alicia Paxson, widow of Philip Paxson, filed suit against Google and Google’s parent company Alphabet in Wake County last week.
Paxson is accusing the technology giant of continuing to suggest a route with a collapsed bridge on its Google Maps service even though Google had received warnings about the bridge. The bridge collapsed in 2013.
Philip Paxson relied on the Google Maps directions on Sept. 30, 2022 when his vehicle fell into Snow Creek after attempting to cross the collapsed bridge on 24th Street Place NE.
The lawsuit specifically references two occasions in 2020 in which a Hickory resident notified the company of the fallen bridge through Google Maps’ “Suggest An Edit” feature.
When asked to respond to the allegations in the lawsuit, company spokesman José Castañeda responded, “We have the deepest sympathies for the Paxson family. Our goal is to provide accurate routing information in Maps and we are reviewing this lawsuit.”
Google is not the only defendant in Paxson’s lawsuit. She also named Hickory-based company Tarde LLC, Mooresville-based company Hinckley Gauvain and James Tarlton, a Hickory real estate businessman affiliated with Tarde LLC, in the complaint.
She alleges that the companies and Tarlton owned or controlled the bridge and surrounding property and were derelict in their duty to repair the bridge or make appropriate arrangements to ensure no one would try to drive across.
Story: Hickory Daily Record https://hickoryrecord.com/news/local/crime-courts/google-responds-to-hickory-womans-bridge-death-lawsuit/article_33cd61f6-5c96-11ee-aa13-bb55b1ad0022.html#tracking-source=home-top-story