A family accuses Google Maps of causing the death of the father with bad directions

The Google platform was sued this Tuesday by an American family that blames its Google Maps application for having provided erroneous directions to its father, who died after falling from a half-destroyed bridge to which that navigation system had directed him.

As published this Thursday by CNN, which had access to the complaint filed two days ago, Philip Paxson activated Google Maps to return home in September 2022 after his daughter's ninth birthday party.

It was night and Google Maps told him to head towards a bridge that had partially collapsed years before and was not properly marked or repaired.. The man fell off that structure with his vehicle and ended up dying.

According to CNN, residents of the area in Hickory, North Carolina, had repeatedly asked for it to be fixed or barriers put up before someone was injured or lost their life, but their requests had not been heeded.

The family's attorney, Robert Zimmerman, said in a statement released by the network that for years Google Maps had directed motorists like Paxson to that route, despite having received complaints about it.

In addition to Google, the family is also suing its parent company, Alphabet, and two local companies that it considers responsible for the maintenance of the land and the bridge, for negligence.

Paxson was married and had two daughters, ages 9 and 7.. In a statement received by CNN, Google expressed its condolences to the family, noted that it is reviewing the lawsuit and that its goal is to provide correct information on its maps.