Survivors of sexual assault perpetrated by rideshare drivers may qualify to file a Lyft or Uber sexual assault lawsuit to hold the appropriate company responsible.

How Many Uber and Lyft Drivers Are There?

Uber had about 3 million to 4 million drivers worldwide, with a million of those drivers in the United States in 2020, according to Ride Share Guy.

Lyft, which operates in 644 cities in the United States and Puerto Rico, has more than 1.4 million drivers, according to Carsurance.

Uber Criticized Over Safety Practices

Despite their widespread use all across the United States, Uber and other major rideshare companies have been widely criticized not just for their pricing policies, but also for their safety practices, especially in recent years.

In 2018, CNN published a groundbreaking report about dozens of Uber drivers convicted for a number of sexual assault crimes, including forcible touching, false imprisonment, and rape.

Criticism of Uber’s safety practices — as well as the claims it makes to customers about safety — has been growing ever since.

In the aftermath of CNN’s report, Uber voluntarily released an 84-page safety report in late 2019. Uber worked with the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and the Urban Institute to prepare the report, according to NPR.

Uber’s own research statistics showed the company received 5,981 allegations of sexual assault in the United States during 2017 and 2018, NPR reported — 3,045 of them in 2018 alone.

While some of the incidents were perpetrated against the drivers, in most cases, the victim was a passenger. Indeed, of the 464 reported rape allegations reported in 2017 and 2018 combined, the passenger was the victim 92 percent of the time, according to a New York Times report.

In other sexual assault categories, including unwanted kisses, non-consensual touching of a sexual body part, and attempted rape, both drivers and passengers were victims at about the same rate, The New York Times reported.

However, Uber’s report did not bring an end to the criticism against the company, and now, critics, victims, and legislators alike are asking more questions about Uber’s safety practices and the rest of the safety data that it has not yet released, according to USA Today.

Uber’s research failed to address categories of sexual misconduct such as masturbation, requesting sexual favors, and verbal threats of assault, NPR reported.

Uber drivers continue to face allegations of sexual assault. A 32-year-old Washington Uber driver was charged in early November with second-degree rape of a 13-year-old child passenger. The man reportedly drove for both Uber and Lyft.

In October 2021, Lyft released its own safety report nearly two years after Uber’s, revealing more than 4,000 reports of sexual assault on the app from 2017 through 2019. While Lyft said its definitions were overly broad in order to collect a wider data set, this included 360 reports specifically of rape. The most common incident reported was nonconsensual touching of a sexual body part, which accounted for more than 2,000 of the sexual assault reports cited in the safety report.

In addition, many survivors do not report sexual misconduct or sexually violent behavior, which means the true number of Lyft and Uber assault cases are likely much higher. Indeed, about 2 out of 3 sexual assaults go unreported to the police, according to RAINN.

On top of sexual assault, rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft have also been linked with the victimization of LGBTQ riders.

California Fines Uber $59 Million

Even though Uber took steps to appear transparent when the company released statistics regarding sexual assault, the state of California demanded to know more.

On Dec. 14, 2020, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) fined Uber $59 million and said the rideshare company could lose its state operating license due to the failure to bring forth requested documentation, according to The Washington Post.

An administrative law judge of the CPUC ruled Uber had to comply with a January 2020 order in which state regulators asked for the following information regarding each reported assault:

• Date
• Time
• Location
• Describe circumstances of incident
• Names and contact information for witnesses and “each person to whom the assault was reported”

“The CPUC has been insistent in its demands that we release the full names and contact information of sexual assault survivors without their consent,” Uber said in a statement released the day the fine was announced, according to Ars Technica. “We opposed this shocking violation of privacy, alongside many victims’ rights advocates.”

The CPUC has insisted the information, when provided by Uber, would remain under seal and none of the victims’ information would be made public.

After fining Uber, the CPUC allowed for some leeway in the identification of victims, who the CPUC said could be identified only by a code or numbering system rather than full actual legal names.

Uber said it released its original report, which included more than 1,200 reports of alleged sexual assaults in California over the course of two years, in order to be transparent, Ars Technica reported. The company has since seen the report become a lightning rod for regulators.

How Many Uber Lawsuits Have Been Filed?

Lyft and Uber are currently facing a slew of sexual abuse lawsuits filed by people who allege they were assaulted.

One San Francisco law firm said in August 2019 it had more than 100 sexual assault lawsuits pending against Lyft or Uber and it was seeing new clients with allegations daily at the time, Vice reported.

A group of 19 women filed a similar lawsuit in the Superior Court of San Francisco, according to The New York Times.

Another firm is representing 70 women who allege they were sexually assaulted by Lyft drivers, according to CNET.

A Massachusetts woman filed a lawsuit against Uber alleging a driver raped her in 2018, The Patriot Ledger reported. Her lawsuit was filed over negligence, negligent hiring, battery, sexual assault, false imprisonment, and infliction of emotional distress. The Uber lawsuit alleges the company has a “lax hiring and security screening process,” according to The Patriot Ledger.

Lyft was at one point seen as a safer alternative to Uber, but as lawsuits are also beginning to pile up against Lyft, this characterization is being called into question.

Many more may yet come forward with their own allegations.

Filing an Uber Lawsuit

More people are coming forward with lawsuits against Uber and other major rideshare companies, alleging that despite safety measures, they failed to prevent instances of sexual assault for customers using their platforms.

According to some of these lawsuits, the company further failed to respond adequately when victims report sexual assault and harassment incidents. Lawsuits have been filed over both negligence and consumer protection violations.

Some alleged victims claim Uber advertises itself as being a safe method of transport for women, especially after a night out with alcohol, but that in reality, this puts these women in serious danger, according to The Verge.

Available financial compensation varies with each case, but damages are generally available for economic damages, which may include medical treatment, therapy and income reductions because of a traumatic event.

Non-economic damages for costs related to the mental and physical issues induced by the attack may be sought. Some cases may include a claim for loss of consortium, which means the victim was emotionally affected to the extent that other functional relationships are nearly impossible.

If you have been subjected to sexual assault by a rideshare driver, you may wish to pursue a Lyft or Uber lawsuit to be financially compensated.  Sexual assault laws vary from state to state, as do their various statutes of limitations.

Filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by sexual assault, but it can at least help to alleviate the financial burden incurred by medical expenses, lost wages, and more. It can also hold the perpetrator — and the company behind them — accountable for their actions and inactions.

You also may be able to pursue punitive damages against Lyft or Uber for failing to provide a safe environment for passengers and drivers.

Legal assistance is available for anyone who was a victim of sexual assault by an Uber driver from 2009 to the present or by a Lyft driver from 2012 to the present.

Filing a lawsuit can be a daunting task, especially when it involves an attack of a sexual nature, but an experienced sexual assault attorney can take the guesswork out of how to proceed and ensure you receive the most compensation possible for your claim.

Top Class Actions has laid the groundwork for you by connecting you with an experienced attorney. Consulting an attorney can help you determine if you have a claim, navigate the complexities of litigation, and maximize your potential compensation.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.