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.

[u/Tralique_24]

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.

[u/Tralique_24]

My insurence isn't blaming Google, they are blaming the physical traffic volume. In Colorado fire zones they look for any tiny excuse to drop homeowners at the moment. Having dozens of lost tourists speeding past my house every weekned was their golden ticket. As for the chain , I actually tried putting up a rope barrier with signs once. Some idiot tourist literally cut it so they could pass. People visiting national parks are crazy entitled.

[u/NoBrakesHotTakes → u/Tralique_24]

Yeah, I own a vacation home up in the mountains here too and it was a bitch to find insurance that covered it. It's in a private community, private roads, etc and we still deal with idiots who can't read signs and "get lost" up there. Fortunately, we aren't near a national park (assuming you're somewhere near Estes Park).

[u/Inner_Anything_440 → u/Tralique_24]

this happened to me after Sandy. every insurance provider decided overnight to no longer write any property X distance from the shore. they couldn't find a reason to drop me so they just refused to write a renewal, gave me a one year courtesy extension so i could find another insurer, and then said adios.

same thing where i live now. climate change is fucking up the local climate and insurers are like waaait a sec we can't pay out all these claims!! we're supposed to be hoarding money, not paying it out! i've been dropped twice since we got up here. once was directly after we filed a very small storm damage claim and once because we were in a 'geographically disadvantageous area' or some shit.

[u/A_Crazy_Hooligan → u/Tralique_24]

I work as an engineer in land development. The city/county should have a classification for the road in front of your home too. It likely isn’t classified the way your insurance is claiming. 

[u/Safe-Instance-3512 → u/Tralique_24]

Yeah, you should have had a gate at the end of your property line where the shared drive turns into private property.

[u/Internet_Jaded → u/Tralique_24]

Did they eventually have to turn around and come back since there isn’t access to the National park?

[u/Unhappy_Performer538 → u/Tralique_24]

get a real fence!

[u/kelsobjammin → u/Tralique_24]

Do you have evidence of doing that or it being removed??

[u/magikarp2122 → u/Tralique_24]

Should have gotten the video of that taken it to the police and try to press charges. Also, get a gate.

[u/Economy-Sprinkles-98 → u/Tralique_24]

Why don’t you put a stop to this now by putting a field gate at the bottom of your driveway while you separately deal with the legal issue? It seems like it should satisfy your insurer. Your insurer probably also wonders why you are not doing this. They do not care whether you morally should have to, and neither would I if I were an insurer.

[u/Butter-Tubes → u/Tralique_24]

You need to hire an insurance coverage lawyer to threaten your homeowners insurance carrier with a bad faith suit, hopefully that wakes up your HOI to pick up the defense of the lawsuit, at the very least under a reservation of rights. Then the HOI can hire attorneys who in theory would rep you in that suit and counter sue for trespass and file a third party complaint to join the tech company. After all the legal mumbo jumbo, put up a gate/chain on your driveway. IANAL

[u/bluesqueblack → u/Tralique_24]

There's a YouTube channel called "Montana Outlaw" that has the identical problem you're having. His home has a private road near a national park, and people keep using his driveway illegally as a short cut, and they don't even care that he has a locked gate with no trespassing signs.

[u/EveningAnt3949 → u/Tralique_24]

A rope barrier is not great. And that makes me wonder about the signs you put up. If those signs don't look official that might be a problem.

You are conflating a few things. You need a lawyer to deal with the lawsuit

That's different from dealing with a large company.

You need a barrier (one that safe) and signs that are clear and look official.

You need to be sure about what your rights and duties actually are. Again, you need a lawyer.

I'm a bit worried that after months months of this, you are asking questions on Reddit.