Family sues Google after man dies driving off collapsed bridge following Maps directions

[liljom]

Something's not added up: bridge has been out for 9 years, and there were no warning signs on the bridge or the road leading up to it?!?

Exactly. Why was it not blocked completely?

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

I just heard the barricades were removed by vandals.

As in, whoever is responsible for the land didn't do their due diligence with either fixing the bridge, putting up something more permanent, or removing road access entirely...

It seems that the road was definitely still in use because from what I saw in the images, there are residences on that street. But I agree a permanent barrier and permanent signs should’ve been put up long ago. If there’s any blame to go around, that’s where it belongs.

 

[Lounds]

This sounds more like a local authority/council issue. I imagine Google will have only been notified by residents and not the local county council.

 

[Hotlynx16]

Google maps has shown for years a city street that intersects with the street I live on but actually it dead ends into private property about a 1/4 mile from my street!I have notified them three times but it has not been fixed! It would be nice if it went through, a good short cut to my house!

 

[colossusrage]

Lol at this lawsuit.

 

[Adhmuz]

Here's what I really wonder... How do they KNOW this? How do they KNOW that he "drove cautiously in the rain" and "unsuspectingly followed" the directions from Google? Was there a survivor that witnessed this? Not as far as I can see in the story... Or are they just formulating a story that fits their narrative, assuming what happened all leads towards Google being some kind of pied piper of death here? Seriously, I want to know what proof there is that he was being super careful and Google lured him to his doom? What if he saw there were issues (like signs in the area), ignored it and had the "I can make this" over-confident approach? Who's to say which story is true, if there were no witnesses to the actual event? This entire lawsuit is just full of reasonable doubt, and any lawyer willing to run with this has got to be an ambulance chaser that is just hoping Google will throw a few bucks towards them to shut them up.

Those responsible for maintenance and road upkeep in the area are far more liable for any damages than Google is.

Because no matter how much of an A hole someone is, when they die, the grieving always paint them as a saint, and if they smell money, well you better bet they'll try to place the blame on an entity with deep pockets.

Money walks, BS talks.

 

[Gezzer]

Clearly that road should have been closed, closed with signs and barriers.... even a developing country would likely get that right

A big problem is NA infrastructure is failing at an alarming rate, and due to residents being reluctant to have large tax increases many issues aren't being addressed. It doesn't let the county off the hook and they certainly should be sued. But it could of come down to repairing the water system, potholes, (or something equally important) or dealing with a seldomly used road. They choose the former and it had tragic results. As for Google's culpability, they do have a responsibility to keep their system properly updated, if that means they can be sued over it? Maybe, maybe not.

 

[RandomWAN]

A big problem is NA infrastructure is failing at an alarming rate, and due to residents being reluctant to have large tax increases many issues aren't being addressed. It doesn't let the county off the hook and they certainly should be sued. But it could of come down to repairing the water system, potholes, (or something equally important) or dealing with a seldomly used road. They choose the former and it had tragic results. As for Google's culpability, they do have a responsibility to keep their system properly updated, if that means they can be sued over it? Maybe, maybe not.

We don't need tax increases, we need to eliminate life-long politicians from the mix, stop allowing these sweet-heart deals with companies that milk the system while doing sub-standard work, and have the companies doing the work held to a commitment of something built lasting a stated operational lifetime or them being fined if it fails to meet those stated operational parameters under expected use.

Many roads and bridges built 60+ years ago are still standing while stuff made in the last 20 are failing within 10 years. Many of the repaved and rebuilt roads around here start failing in about 5 years after completion.

Stealing more money to throw at the same broken system isn't a solution.