Lyft is being sued by a gaggle of greater than 20 ladies who say they have been raped or sexually assaulted whereas utilizing the ridesharing service. That is the second such lawsuit in opposition to the corporate in 4 months. The story was first reported by the Washington Submit.
Mike Bomberger, a accomplice on the California regulation agency Estey and Bomberger LLC, advised Digital Developments that in 80 p.c of those complaints, the ladies have been drunk or in some way susceptible, and the driving force assaulted or raped them within the car.
Estey and Bomberger runs the web site UberSexualAssaultLawyer.com, and can also be representing the plaintiffs in a class-action swimsuit filed in opposition to Lyft in September that entails 14 ladies with comparable complaints.
“We’ve over 100 complaints, and we anticipate extra,” Bomberger stated. “We can be submitting extra lawsuits.”
A Lyft spokesperson advised Digital Developments in a press release that the corporate has applied 15 new options to spice up security, together with persevering with legal background checks and in-app emergency help.
“What these ladies describe is one thing nobody ought to ever should endure. Everybody deserves the power to maneuver in regards to the world safely, but ladies nonetheless face disproportionate dangers,” the spokesperson stated. “We acknowledge these dangers, which is why we’re relentless in our work to construct security into each side of our work. Meaning regularly investing in new options and insurance policies to guard our riders and drivers.”
In September, days after the final class-action swimsuit was filed, the corporate introduced it was partnering with the Rape, Abuse & Incest Nationwide Community, and mandating driver schooling. In Could, it introduced {that a} panic button was being added to the app.
Such fixes rely on a person being awake and in a position to entry their app. Bomberger stated a more practical repair could also be one Uber started rolling out final month: Recording the rides. All the rides.
“If an worker is aware of they’re being recorded, the speed of assaults go down exponentially,” he stated. “Proper now, Lyft is attempting to provoke security options that you simply use solely after the assault has began. Let’s strive the novel concept of stopping the assault earlier than it’s began.”
Bomberger stated that on the very least, they hope to drive Lyft to confess to the excessive numbers of people that have skilled comparable assaults. “We’re anticipating Lyft to attempt to do what they’ve carried out for 5 years, which is conceal the variety of folks assaulted of their automobiles,” he stated. There are presently no public numbers as to how many individuals are assaulted in rideshare automobiles yearly.
“Based mostly on what we’ve heard from cities and states across the nation, we all know the quantity is within the 1000’s,” Bomberger stated. “I’ve had a whole bunch of calls since September.”
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