Uber and Lyft are young, but they still have sexual assault issues. There have been hundreds of verified reports and several major lawsuits. Uber and Lyft have a moral obligation to take preventative steps to stop assault in their drivers’ cars since they know these happen.
Damages are often substantial in sexual assault cases. Victims are entitled to money for their monetary and nonmonetary losses. Juries also can award substantial punitive damages if they believe it’s warranted.
What Can A Lawyer Do?
Negligent hiring is common in these cases. To boil it down, negligent hiring is when a company hires someone to do a task when the person hired should not have been hired due to questionable acts in his/her past. For instance, a truck driver who was hired to drive even though he/she has had multiple DUIs in the past would be an example of negligent hiring.
A “sexual assault” is unwanted touching. The incident could occur in the ridesharing car or out of the car. Getting into an Uber or a Lyft should be a simple task—you tap the app, pick your location, and wait for your ride. Sometimes the drivers don’t behave how they are supposed to, especially when it comes to female passengers. Touching a person without their permission is not just impressible, it’s illegal. When a driver commits sexual assault he faces jail time and civil punishment.
These elements are typically present in an Uber or Lyft sexual assault case. Company lawyers for Uber and Lyft often defend these cases based on the nature of the employment relationship and the company’s background check process.
Uber has repeatedly argued that its drivers are independent contractors and not employees. However, the courts, and not the companies, decide that question, and the answer the courts have given so far are not very clear. For the most part, in tort cases, judges use a much broader definition of “employee” than the IRS uses.
The background check defense is even weaker. Due to the rising number of incidents, Uber recently agreed to back off claims that its background checks were the “gold standard” in the industry. There are clearly holes in the process, and Uber and Lyft’s lawyers must explain these flaws to a jury to defeat these actions.
If you or a loved one was an Uber sexual assault victim, reach out to an sexual assault lawyer GA trusts today so you can get educated.