Well, it’s not as sexy as McDonald’s coffee being too hot, but it shows that as Americans, we haven’t gotten more intelligent.
I read about this article today, on the day that we should be spending giving thanks for the vets that have afforded us the rights to sue companies with stupid, junk lawsuits.
That’s where Lauren Rosenberg comes into play. She decided to walk from 96 Daly Street, Park City, Utah to 1710 Prospector Ave, Park City, Utah. She decided to look at Google Maps, and use their walking directions on her blackberry. Now would be a good time to point out that every install of Google Maps on any device be it a laptop, desktop, Andriod or Blackberry or iPhone phone, I mean any device, includes a disclaimer upon install that relieves Google of fault, should you be stupid.
The walking directions included walking on a busy street with no sidewalks. This lady, Lauren Rosenberg, apparently didn’t walk close enough to the edge, and got hit. Some might say this is natural section trying to happen, but she says that she’s intelligent and capable of using reasonable judgement. She got hit, and is now suing the driver, Google and John Doe I – X for $100,000.
I say that perhaps natural selection should have won out here.
Having read this case, I started to think. On my drive from Phoenix, Arizona to Burlington, Vermont, I used Google and TomTom’s directions. At one point, they both gave me poor directions, causing me to miss a turn by about 15 miles. If I were to state that I bill out at $1,000,000 per hour, and that my vehicle only gets 1 mile to the gallon, could I sue Google and TomTom for the bad directions? The lawsuit would only be for $500,012.39, the cost of time plus gas.
For those interested in the reading, the lawsuit is attached.
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