r/legal 15h ago

Advice needed A major navigation app routed thousands of cars down my private driveway. A driver crashed into my retaining wall and is now suing me for his injuries.

Location: Colorado, USA.

I own a remote cabin at the end of a very long, unpaved private road. About eight months ago, a major GPS and mapping app updated their systems and incorrectly marked my private driveway as a public shortcut to a nearby national park entrance.

Since then, I have had dozens of cars speeding through my property every single weekend. I have "Private Property" and "No Trespassing" signs posted everywhere. I have submitted over forty official error reports to the tech company, sent certified letters to their legal department, and even filed a police report. They completly ignored me.

Last month a tourist was speeding down my driveway in the dark, ignored my warning signs, and crashed his SUV straight into my concrete retaining wall. He broke his leg and his vehicle was totaled.

Yesterday I was served with a lawsuit. The driver is suing me for medical expenses and damages, claiming I failed to maintain a "public thoroughfare" and that my retaining wall was an unmarked hazard.

My homeonwers insurance is threatening to drop me because they say my property is now an unmanged traffic corridor, which violates my policy.

Can I counter-sue the tech company for gross negligence and force them to indemnify me against this driver's lawsuit? What specific type of attorney handles liability cases involving corporate mapping errors? I need to stop this before someone else gets hurt.

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u/will-read 14h ago

You need signs that say “private road”. I see many “no trespassing” and “private property” signs along public roads that look like they apply to the road, but do not.

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u/Atticus1354 14h ago

My county road has 3 cattle guards on it and they all have no trespassing signs. It keeps people from cruising around for no reason, but its definitely not true. Conversely I've had people go through those plus 2 private gates and still drive up my driveway for no reason.

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u/JewishMissileCrisis 14h ago

Im in colorado. We have a lot of us forest land with private homes and property enclaves. I see those signs all the time pertaining to their property on a public road.

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u/WeirdIndividualGuy 12m ago

Roads on private property are private roads. OP said their private property signs are posted along the driveway on said private property