A woman from Utah in the United States has launched a car crashcompensation claim against the search engine company Google, with her no win, no fee solicitor arguing that the company's map service led her to walking on a motorway without providing sufficient warning of the dangers it presented.
The claimant had been hoping to walk between two residential addresses but, not knowing the precise route, used Google Maps on her Blackberry.
The service told her to walk half-a-mile on the sedate-sounding Deer Valley Drive. However, it transpired that this was in fact a stretch of motorway without pavements. Unfortunately, the woman persisted with the route and was soon hit by a vehicle, suffering personal injury.
Her car crashcompensation claim alleges that Google was negligent in failing to warn of the dangers of the route. Although a warning is usually provided, the fact that the woman accessed the route on her Blackberry means that she was, like other Blackberry users, unable to see it.
*Where replacement vehicle costs can be recovered from the insurance company of the person who caused the accident.
Where this person is untraceable or uninsured, or where there is a dispute over liability, a replacement vehicle cannot
be provided.
