In January, Utah resident Lauren Rosenberg used her cell phone to download walking directions.  Google Maps subsequently led her to a four-lane boulevard without sidewalks; while crossing the road, she was struck by a passing car.  Unsurprisingly, Rosenberg is suing the driver of the car who hit her – but has also named Google as a defendant  as well.

The lawsuit states that Google should have known that the street that the directions indicated was a rural highway with vehicles traveling at a high rate of speed, lacking pedestrian sidewalks – and that they therefore had a duty to warn of these dangers.  For instructing her to use the "dangerous path" for her trip, Google allegedly caused the plaintiff severe physical, emotional, and mental injuries, including pain and suffering and medical expenses in excess of $100,000.  She is seeking a judgment for medical bills, loss of income, diminution in earning capacity, legal costs, and punitive damages.

Rosenberg's lawyer says  that the image that the media has painted of his client as ignoring her own safety to blindly follow directions without regard to common sense is an unfair one.  He asserts that Google essentially "created a trap" with incorrect and unsafe instructions that Rosenberg relied on to her detriment.

But even if Google does have a duty to warn, have they really fallen down on that duty?  When viewing Google maps on a computer, it actually gives a disclaimer : "Walking directions are in beta.  Use caution – This route may be missing sidewalks or pedestrian paths."  Additionally, the iPhone application version of Google Maps displays the abbreviated warning "Walking directions (beta): use caution."  At what point is such a warning sufficient?  Though perhaps the larger question is, as we become more and more reliant on technology, do the Googles of the world owe us a higher duty of care?