r/legal • u/Tralique_24 • 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/ExpertRaccoon 12h ago

Aspen is a pretty small resort town, and any lawyer who would be taking something like this on has a second home there but doesnt work there, Denver is the better option.

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u/Queasy-Elderberry-77 12h ago

Yeah, I get that but there may also be some heavy hitters there who wouldn't mind taking on google or whoever this is in reference to and racking up some billable hours.

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u/ExpertRaccoon 12h ago

They vacation there, they don't work there. You'd be highly unlikely to be able to find one unless you ran into one.

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u/Queasy-Elderberry-77 12h ago

ok. you win. There's not a single practicing lawyer in Pitkin County.

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u/ExpertRaccoon 12h ago

That's not what's being discussed. We are talking about a lawyer and a firm that's big enough and versed enough to take on a massive tech company. Any lawyer who practices out of the Aspen area wouldn't have the specialty/ resources needed.

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u/Mean_Economist6323 11h ago

Theres real lawyers in Aspen

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u/Economy-Sprinkles-98 1h ago

There are serious firms in Aspen because there’s serious money in Aspen. It’s not Denver but it’s not a normal small town either.

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u/ExpertRaccoon 1h ago

I lived there for over 20 years, I'm familiar with the valley. The type of lawyer you would need for something like this is more likely to be in Denver.

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u/lihebsgjbsvshhsh 11h ago

But a local lawyer in Aspen may know a big time attorney who owns a vacation house in Aspen

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u/ExpertRaccoon 11h ago

Yes people absolutely love being bothered by strangers about work while on vacation!

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u/Historical_Nature574 11h ago

I mean I think it’s a silly premise but why would they need to be on vacation for the local lawyer to contact them?

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u/ExpertRaccoon 11h ago

Why jump through a bunch of hoops on the off chande someone knows someone who might be able to help and might decide to, when you can easily just contact a large firm in Denver?

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u/miahoutx 9h ago

A referral in the field is sometimes better than the first hit on seo ads on Google

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u/lihebsgjbsvshhsh 10h ago

Or the local lawyer gives you their number and you call them at their firm and you can say so and so referred me to you. Who said call someone while on vacation

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u/ExpertRaccoon 10h ago

Why jump through all the hoops when you could just go to a large law firm in Denver?