The quest for Pokémon, Pikachu, Psyduck and other creaturescontinues, but many of the more than 15 million players who havedownloaded the app are placing themselves and othersin danger.
In their zeal to reach the next level, capture the next creatureor find Lucky Eggs, they are walking into traffic, trampling onprivate property and exposing themselves to unsafe conditions.
The game recently claimed its first accident victim when28-year-old Steven Cary slammed his car into a tree while lookingat a special Pokémon on his app. He looked down for a second andwoke up later in an ambulance, according to a Facebook post. Hiscar hit a tree and he suffered a broken ankle and cuts to his legs.In another incident, a player parked his car illegally to catch aPokemon and the car was struck by a second vehicle.
Who’s liable and who pays?
When incidents like this occur, who is responsible and whoseinsurance carrier has to pay? In all likelihood, San Francisco-basesoftware developer Niantic Labs didn’t anticipate the level of dangerassociated with a game where players wander out into traffic,travel into dark, unfamiliar areas late at night or drive whilechecking their game “for just a minute.”
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