Ride-hailing company Uber is currently facing a lawsuit in the United States as a total of 550 women came forward with their stories about being assaulted by the company's drivers.
Uber Faces 550 Lawsuits
According to CNBC, the filing includes allegations from female passengers who were sexually assaulted, sexually battered, raped, stalked, falsely imprisoned, harassed, kidnapped, and attacked by Uber drivers.
The lawsuits were filed at the San Francisco County Superior Court in California on July 13.
An Uber spokesperson told the BBC that they are taking every report by the female passengers seriously.
The spokesperson added that the safety of the passengers is important for the company, which is why it has built new safety features, established survivor-centric policies, and been more transparent about the reported incidents.
Uber has stated that they can't comment on the pending litigation, but they will continue to improve their safety features.
The complaint, which attorneys filed at the law firm Slater Slater Schulman, alleged that the assaults on the passengers took place in several states.
It also states that at least 150 cases are being actively investigated.
Assault Cases Done by Uber Drivers
According to TechCrunch, the lawsuit alleges that as early as 2014, Uber became aware that its drivers were raping, stalking, and sexually assaulting female passengers. However, the filing claims that the ride-hailing company prioritized its growth over the safety of its customers.
Adam Slater, the founding partner of Slater Slater Schulman, said that Uber's business model is predicated on giving people a safe ride home. Still, rider safety was never the company's concern, but the growth was. And it was done at the expense of the passengers' safety.
In June, Uber released its second US Safety Report, which showed 998 sexual assault incidents, including 141 rape reports, in 2020.
In the report, Uber said it had a total of 3,824 reports of the five most severe categories of sexual assault between 2019 and 2020.
The law firm's first safety report shows that from 2017 to 2018, there have been around 5,981 reports of sexual assault.
What makes the lawsuit even more damaging for the ride-hailing company is it could be used as evidence of its toxic culture.
Uber's Malpractice
On July 11, a former Uber executive came forward with multiple accusations of malpractice in the company.
He revealed that Uber had a "kill switch" that could be turned on if law enforcement came knocking, preventing them from finding any evidence or information that could be used against the company.
Mark MacGann, the former executive, revealed that the leaked documents prove that Uber does put growth above everything else.
Now, the lawsuit is claiming the same thing, that Uber had intentionally concealed that its drivers had sexually assaulted women. The entire time the company was advertising its rides as "safe," when they knew there was a problem.
The lawsuit also says that Uber did not conduct proper background checks on its drivers.
Related Article : California Fines Uber with $59 Million After Refusing to Hand Over Assault Data as Company Argues Anonymity for Victims
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Sophie Webster
