Google is facing a lawsuit for negligence from the family of Philip Paxton, a North Carolina man who tragically lost his life last year after following directions provided by Google Maps, leading his car off a collapsed bridge.

Philip Paxton, a medical device salesman and father of two, drowned in September the previous year when his vehicle plunged off a bridge that had been closed for nine years. The family’s lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, alleges that multiple individuals had previously informed Google Maps about the bridge’s collapse in the years leading up to Paxson’s fatal incident, urging the company to update its route information.

On the day of the incident, Paxton and his wife hosted a camping-themed party for their daughter at a friend’s house in Hickory, a neighbourhood in North Carolina. Paxton, who was generally unfamiliar with the area, stayed late to clean up after the party while his wife left earlier to set up.

Unfamiliar with the area and unaware of the bridge’s closure, Paxton relied on Google Maps to navigate the approximately 10-minute drive back home. Tragically, in the pitch-black area of the bridge without artificial lighting, Paxton’s vehicle “drove off an unguarded edge of the bridge and crashed approximately twenty feet below,” as stated in the lawsuit.

First responders discovered Paxton’s overturned jeep partially submerged in a creek around 11 pm that night.

The lawsuit reveals that Hickory resident Kim Ellis had previously sent two “suggest an edit” notifications to Google Maps concerning drivers being directed to the bridge. In November 2020, Google acknowledged her report, claiming they were reviewing the suggestion, but no further action was taken, according to the lawsuit.

Jose Castaneda, a Google spokesperson, expressed condolences to the Paxton family and stated, “Our goal is to provide accurate routing information in Maps, and we are reviewing this lawsuit.”