On-demand cab service Uber has been hauled to court, after 6-year-old Sofia Liu was run over and killed on New Year's Eve in San Francisco.
On Monday, Jan. 27, Liu's family filed a wrongful-death suit against the driver Syed Muzaffar, as well as Uber, claiming the cab service's online app is in violation of California's distracted-driving laws.
Uber deploys an app which connects drivers and passengers via smartphone. According to the suit, Muzaffar was logged on to the Uber X smartphone app and was free to provide rides at the time of the crash.
The family claims the app distracted Muzaffar and that is why he hit Sofia, her younger brother Anthony Liu, and their mother Huan Kuang as they entered a crosswalk.
"The defects in the app and/or GPS interface were the direct and proximate cause of harm to all of the plaintiffs including the physical and emotional injuries suffered by Huan Kuang and Anthony Liu and the wrongful death of Sophia Liu and the injuries that flow therefrom to all plaintiffs," the lawsuit states.
Muzzafar was charged with "suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and failure to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk." He is currently out of jail on bail.
Uber disputes that the driver was not logged on at the time of the incident. The transport company previously issued a statement that Muzaffar was "not providing services on the Uber system during the time of the accident" since he was not carrying a passenger.
Muzaffar's attorney, Graham Archer, however, says his client was "working for Uber" when the accident took place. Archer says Muzaffar had dropped off a fare and was waiting for another request at the time of the accident.
Uber has declined to comment on the case. It has deactivated Muzaffar's account since the accident.
The amount of damages sought by the plaintiff has not been specified in the lawsuit.
