Uber and Lyft sexual assault lawsuits continue to haunt both ride-hailing companies. Victims have included both passengers and drivers in Uber and Lyft sexual assault cases.

Lyft accused of inaction

According to the Uber safety report published in Dec. 2019, the company received well over 3,000 annual reports of sexual assault in 2017 and 2018 each, including nearly 500 reports of rape. In a number of cases, the victims were intoxicated or otherwise impaired, per the report.

While Uber’s 2019 report immediately placed it more in the spotlight in this ride-hailing sexual assault scandal, Lyft reportedly had serious problems with sexual violence and harassment as well. This has compromised Uber’s reputation over the last couple of years, while similar incidents with Lyft drivers were initially overlooked.

In recent years, more and more people come forward with Uber and Lyft sexual assault cases, alleging they were attacked by drivers and claiming that the company was negligent in ensuring passenger safety. Furthermore, many of these complaints say that when the plaintiffs reported the incidents to the company, Lyft took little action.

One plaintiff said there was not even an apology — just an offer to refund her fare. “They…just pushed it under the rug,” she said. More than a dozen other plaintiffs who recently sued the company are in agreement, claiming that Lyft does not do enough to investigate reports of sexual assault or harassment by drivers.

But because Uber’s safety report was so widely publicized, and Lyft had not yet released such a report, the numbers just weren’t available to the public for Lyft’s sexual assault incidents, and so Uber has remained the focus.

That is, until now, with the release of Lyft’s own safety report.

Lyft’s safety report

Nearly two years after the release of Uber’s safety report — and two years after Lyft promised such a report was forthcoming — Lyft has released a safety report of its own, revealing more than 4,000 assaults over the three-year period between 2017 and 2019. Among the total of 4,158 reports of sexual assault were 360 reports of rape.

Lyft has not offered much in the way of reasoning as to why its safety report has come years after Uber’s. Notably, during this time period between reports, Lyft has benefited from the #DeleteUber movement in the wake of Uber’s various scandals, including its report. Lyft, in this time, has captured nearly 40% of the US market share, per the Washington Post.

The company has noted that these kinds of serious incidents are “statistically rare,” given the sheer number of rides via the rideshare company each year.

What could have been done?

Plaintiffs who have brought the current Lyft sexual assault cases claim that the company should have had mandatory video monitoring of rides as well as requiring driver candidates to pass criminal background checks.

In response to these complaints, Lyft has started instituting a number of changes to improve passenger safety. These include:

• In-app emergency assistance
• Continuous criminal background monitoring for drivers
• Mandatory feedback on rides with less than a four-star rating

Uber has been taking similar measures. Nonetheless, these moves are akin to shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted, and do not help those passengers who have already suffered sexual assault by a rideshare driver.

Aren’t Lyft and Uber drivers at risk as well?

There have been reports of drivers who have been assaulted by their passengers. According to a recent story published by Vox, drivers were the victims in 42% of the incidents. The report notes that most of the drivers who were assaulted were women, who make up approximately 30% of all Lyft drivers.

Women drivers for both Uber and Lyft have reported issues with sexual assault and harassment from passengers, and a distinct lack of support from their respective rideshare apps, according to a recent report in The Verge.

Newly filed Lyft sexual assault cases

Lyft is facing several new lawsuits regarding allegations the company disregarded the dangers faced by women as either passengers or drivers, according to The Mercury News.

The new lawsuits filed in December will become part of a mass tort action that includes dozens of female plaintiffs. By the time the trial begins in January 2022, legal experts predict that there will most likely be hundreds of plaintiffs.

Among the allegations is that one girl was just 15 years old when a Lyft driver raped her. Before taking her home, he purportedly made her take a pregnancy prevention pill.

One plaintiff alleges she was raped by a Lyft driver after he took her home from a San Diego night club in January 2017. Once the man was questioned by authorities, he purportedly ran across the border into Mexico to avoid prosecution.

Another young woman said she was raped after being coerced into oral sex by a Lyft driver who was providing her a ride home from an Oregon bar in December 2019.

According to court documents, plaintiffs allege Lyft “does not cooperate with police when a driver commits an illegal sexual attack on its passengers…” and tends to only provide information to the authorities after being served a subpoena.

Lyft told The Mercury News that the company provides initial and annual criminal background checks through Social Security number tracing, county and federal criminal court records, nationwide criminal background searching, and a review of the Department of Justice’s sex offender registry that includes identifiable predators from all 50 states.

Lyft responds

Although Lyft declined to provide a media interview, a spokesperson told the Associated Press, “Not a day passes when we aren’t thinking about the safety of our platform…we continue to invest in new products, policies and features to make Lyft an even safer platform.”

In a 2017 interview with the New York Times, Lyft co-founder John Zimmer said “values matter and ethics matter” after the CEO of rival Uber resigned over allegations of sexual harassment. However, with the growing number of Lyft sexual assault cases, many are beginning to question the company’s commitment to those ethics. Unlike Uber, Lyft has yet to release its own report on ride safety.

Last year, Richard Levick, founder and CEO of Levick Communications, told the AP, “Lyft was the non-frat culture alternative to Uber. If that’s who you are, how can safety be an afterthought?”

Filing a Lyft sexual assault lawsuit

A growing number of people are coming forward with allegations of sexual assault related to their Lyft rides.

If you have suffered from sexual assault on a Lyft ride, you may be able to pursue a lawsuit.  Filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by assault, but it can at least hold those responsible for their actions and inactions.

Filing a lawsuit can be a daunting prospect, so 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 financial claim.

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