This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

A Utah district court judge dismissed Google from a personal injury lawsuit involving a woman who claims she was hit by a car because Google Maps directed her to walk along a Park City street without sidewalks.

Third District Judge Deno Himonas ruled late last month that Google and its Google Maps, an online service that calculates the shortest or fastest routes for travelers, are protected by the First Amendment and therefore should not be a defendant in the case, according to Provo-based attorney Allen K. Young, who represents Lauren Rosenberg, the plaintiff in the case.

Young said Wednesday that attorneys are still deciding if Rosenberg, who is from Los Angeles, will appeal Google's dismissal. The driver of the vehicle that struck Rosenberg, Patrick Harwood, is still named as a defendant in the case.

Rosenberg claims that in January 2009 she had used Google Maps to figure out a walking route from 96 Daly Ave. to 1710 Prospector Ave. in Park City. Early in the morning, she was walking northeast on Deer Valley Road, which does not have sidewalks, when she was struck, according to Young. She suffered multiple fractures and concussions from the accident.

A suit was originally filed in U.S. District Court last summer but was later dismissed when it was determined to be in the wrong jurisdiction. The state civil suit was filed last September.

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