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Snapchat Sued For Facilitating 107 MPH Car Crash (patch.com)
An anonymous reader writes: A Georgia couple is suing Snapchat, a popular instant messaging and photo sharing app, after a car accident last year seriously injured the husband, leaving him permanently brain damaged. According to media reports, Wentworth Maynard, the victim, was driving in a 55-mile-per-hour zone when 18-year-old Christal McGee crashed into him traveling at 107 miles per hour. McGee, according to lawsuits, was attempting to use Snapchat's "speed filter" -- a feature that overlays the speed one is traveling on a picture. "Snapchat's speed filter facilitated McGee's excessive speeding," reads the lawsuit. "McGee was motivated to drive at an excessive speed in order to obtain recognition through Snapchat by the means of a Snapchat 'trophy.'"
It does make you wonder what Snapchat was thinking with this feature. Did nobody anticipate that jerks would drive crazy speeds because of this thing?
I live ze unknown. I love ze unknown. I am ze unknown.
Would you hold Snapcat liable if they recorded the surrounding temperature and someone tried to maximize it by sitting in an enclosed car in the hot sun and died? All Snapchat did was to record a readily available piece of GPS data. It is the fault of the driver that she tried to maximize it. Snapchat does not have a "speed trophy". They even show a warning not to use Snapchat while driving.
Unfortunately, the 18 year old very likely only had basic liability insurance that wouldn't cover 1/10th of this guy's current and future medical bills. Suing her would at most get you a court judgement she'll never be able to honor and she'll be back on the road soon enough once her suspension is up.
He was nearly killed because she wanted a "cool" picture to show her friends how badass she is... brain damage usually means part of him is dead and he'll never be the same. Snapchat offering an asinine feature that encourages people to be stupid makes them partially at fault. And they have the money to cover his medical bills which will likely be in the many hundreds of thousands of dollars. Along with the years of PT, psychological therapy and medications he'll need.
This guy is ruined for life and will probably never be able to work again. I don't blame them for going after SnapChat, it's likely the only way he'll be able to get medications and care after he leaves the hospital. The kid won't be able to pay for shit.