Uber has collected quite a lot of lawsuits in the past years, some from dissatisfied customers who had a very bad experience with the online transportation company and some from their own drivers.
The most controversial of cases filed against them is that of the two Jane Does who called foul when they were sexually harassed by the Uber drivers that serviced them. The two ladies were allegedly violated in 2015 and filed a lawsuit against the company in October 2015 for sexual assault. According to the two victims, Uber should be liable for their drivers' actions.
There have been claims that Uber doesn't do enough to ensure the safety of their female passengers. Moreover, the company also has an inadequate driver screening system and they simply do not dig deep enough in the background of those drivers they make contracts with.
In Uber's defense, they argue that their company cannot be held liable for their drivers' actions on the count of these people are not employees of Uber, they are contractors. With this in mind, the California-based hailing company tried to appeal to the court to toss the case in May 2016, but that was slammed as per Engadget.
Furthermore, the lawyers of the two victims argue that the company markets their service to young women who have been drinking. It only follows that the drivers they enlist should have a thorough background check to avoid any chance of sexually assaulting young women under the influence of alcohol.
According to CNET,The strong case against Uber was filed by two women who felt violated after availing the company's hailing service. Jane Doe 1 was assaulted in Boston on February 8, 2015. According to the victim, she and her friends were out partying when they decided to hail a ride via Uber.
The Uber driver dropped the victim's friends off before her, then proceeded to take a detour. Jane Doe 1 was kissed and touched inappropriately by the said driver. Luckily for Jane Doe 1, she was able to unlock the door and make a run for it.
The same luck was not present when Jane Doe 2 had her bad experience with Uber. The second victim was assaulted in Charleston, South Carolina on August 9, 2015. Jane Doe 2 and her friends were having a good time at a bar when they decided to hail a cab the convenient way, which is by the Uber app.
The Uber driver dropped off Jane Doe 2's friends first, then took a detour to take her home next. Eventually, Jane Doe 2 soon found herself in an abandoned parking lot and was raped by the suspected Uber driver.
Upon finding out about this horrible report, Uber said that they barred those drivers immediatly. Uber has already settled their case with the two Jane Does, although the details have yet to be released. There is a report however that the prosecution has requested payment for unspecified damages plus a permanent injunction against Uber to overhaul safety measures.
That being said, Uber must require their drivers to install GPS tracking systems on their vehicles, which should alarm if deactivated. The child lock feature should be removed as well on passenger doors. Lastly, they also requested to do a fingerprint-based background check and face to face interviews with the drivers they hire.
However, it is yet to be revealed if Uber agreed to these terms set by the lawyers of the two Jane Does. Now that the Jane Doe sexual assault case against them has been settled, Uber can now deal with other lawsuits lined up for them. The ride-hailing app is definitely used on a global scale.
Uber has their services used in over 450 cities and 70 countries and there are a lot of sexual assault complaints from all over the world. The service us even banned in India's capital after a horrible rape case took place in 2014. Moreover, there was also a sexual assault case in France whereas the driver was arrested.
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