Looks like Google is going to get sued by a woman from Utah. No, it is not because of some app or another infringement issue. This time it is because she was actually hit by a car following Google Maps’ directions for pedestrians.
Lauren Rosenberg, a Blackberry user from Park City, Utah, made use of Google Maps’ walking directions to get to her destination. Unfortunately, the beta version of the app involved crossing the Deer Valley Drive, also known as the Utah State Route 224.
This was a road that had no provision for pedestrian crossing. Despite the total lack of a sidewalk, Rosenberg still persisted until she got hit by a car.
The court documents specified that taking a different route or walking away from the traffic was not an option for Rosenberg. She was resolute to try and follow Google Maps’ directions. Because of her lack of awareness and knowledge of pedestrian safety regulations, she is now blaming her misfortune on Google and is suing them for about 68, 827 GBP.
While it is unclear just what her state of mind was when she crossed the road, she is truly convinced that Google is the reckless, negligent and careless one in the case.
Google did warn the public beforehand regarding the accuracy of their walking directions:
“Walking directions are in beta. Use caution. This route may be missing sidewalks or pedestrian paths.”
While the Blackberry screen does not have provisions for a warning to be placed there for reference, it is common knowledge that GPS services are never really fool proof.
This is quite an amusing case, seeing as it would simply have taken a dash of common sense to avoid the mishap on Rosenberg’s part. It would be curious to see whether or not the Utah woman earns some pocket money from this case.
Tags: BlackBerry, Google, Google-Maps