What to Do If You're a Victim of an Uber Driver's Assault

As a form of personal injury law, premises liability cases require an attorney to prove the owner or operator of a property committed at least one act of negligence that harmed a visitor to the property. Some of the better-known types of premises liability cases include slips and falls, defective handrails, and objects falling from heights. One of the lesser-known but just as important types of premises liability cases is called negligent security. This type of premises liability case involves proving the owner or operator of a property failed to take steps to prevent a visitor from becoming the victim of a crime.

One of the most difficult types of negligent security cases concerns a crime committed by a rideshare driver, such as a driver who contracts with Uber. Theft and sexual assault represent two of the most common types of crimes committed by Uber drivers. Of the two types of crimes, sexual assault is a much more serious crime because the criminal act can cause significant and long-term emotional damage to the victim of the assault. The development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms can include considerable fear, guilt, and shame.

If you are a victim of a sexual assault committed by an Uber driver, contact an Uber sexual assault lawyer to help determine whether you have a strong enough case to file a civil lawsuit against Uber, the driver, or both parties. Although it can be difficult to prove Uber should assume the legal liability for the commission of a crime, an Uber sexual assault lawyer conducts an exhaustive investigation to determine which party should assume legal liability for causing you harm.

At Morgan and Morgan, our team of experienced premises liability attorneys represents clients that endured a sexual assault committed by an Uber driver or a passenger riding in the same vehicle driven by an Uber driver. The Uber sexual assault lawyer you hire from Morgan and Morgan determines whether Uber failed to implement measures that prevent drivers from committing crimes against passengers. As the hundreds of reviews on sites such as Yelp and Google confirm, our Uber sexual assault lawyers demonstrate the level of empathy and compassion that helps victims work through the process of putting the crime behind them.

Schedule a free case evaluation with a Morgan and Morgan attorney to receive the best legal support for your case.

What Is the Emotional Impact of PTSD?

First diagnosed in military veterans, PTSD is now associated with any type of traumatic event that leaves behind lingering and debilitating mental and emotional issues. Many victims of violent crimes such as sexual assault receive treatment for PTSD symptoms that can last for several years or even a lifetime. A research study published in Trauma, Violence, & Abuse showed that more than 80 percent of sexual assault victims develop at least one PTSD symptom within one week of falling victim to the crime.

The mental and emotional distress symptoms vary among victims, but researchers have discovered a pattern that many victims experience. First, acute fear and anxiety can make it difficult for a victim of sexual assault to step outside the victim’s home. The victims desperately want to be in familiar environments that do not involve being around many people. Acute fear and anxiety can remain with a victim for the rest of the victim’s life. While dealing with acute fear and anxiety, a sexual assault victim can develop symptoms of shame, guilt, and embarrassment. Intensive therapy can help a victim cope with shame, guilt, and embarrassment. Finally, many victims start to feel intense anger that eventually gives way to signs of depression.

PTSD can develop severe symptoms that make it impossible for a victim to interact socially and professionally with colleagues at work.

Can I File a Lawsuit Against an Uber Driver?

You have the right under intentional tort law to file a civil lawsuit against an Uber driver that seeks monetary damages. Intentional tort law covers violent crimes such as battery, robbery, and sexual assault. For a sexual assault lawsuit, your attorney must show the driver intentionally committed a sexual assault. The Uber sexual assault lawyer from Morgan and Morgan representing you also must demonstrate you did not give the driver permission to touch you in any way. Your legal counselor presents physical evidence of sexual contact, as well as makes the connection between the sexual assault and damages you incurred.

In addition to filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages from an Uber driver who committed sexual assault, you also can file criminal charges against the driver. For more than 30 years, the Attorneys at Morgan and Morgan have helped clients prepare for criminal cases by working with local prosecutors. Much of the same physical evidence that we gather for a civil lawsuit is persuasive enough to help a client prove an Uber driver is guilty of sexual assault “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

How Do I Hold Uber Legally Liable for Sexual Assault?

Because Uber hires independent contractors to fill vacant driver positions, it is often difficult for an Uber sexual assault lawyer to prove the company should be held legally liable for a crime committed by a driver. The most effective way to demonstrate Uber’s liability is to show the court evidence that proves Uber failed to take steps to protect the victim of a sexual assault.

One of the most common tactics used by an Uber sexual assault lawyer is to present evidence that verifies Uber failed to properly check the background of an accused driver. Just because Uber hires independent contractors does not mean the company is not responsible for checking every driver’s criminal background. If a driver has a history of committing sex crimes and Uber hires the driver, then the company can be found negligent for hiring a driver who committed sexual assault on a passenger.

Uber also can be held legally liable for failing to discipline a driver who has received numerous complaints from passengers, especially if the complaints are of a sexual nature. Acts of sexual harassment indicate a driver has the potential to sexually assault a passenger. Discipline for sexual harassment should be incremental in three steps: Written warning, suspension, and termination.

The key for your Uber sexual assault lawyer is to discover the paper trail that proves Uber committed one or more acts of negligence when hiring a driver.

How Do I Prove Negligence?

As a form of personal injury law, proving negligence for a premises liability case requires your Uber sexual assault lawyer to demonstrate the presence of four elements

Duty of Care

Proving the element called duty of care for other types of premises liability cases is relatively easy to do. For example, a grocery store owner has a duty of care to ensure customers do not slip and fall on wet floors. However, for a company such as Uber that hires independent contractors, proving duty of care is much more difficult. In most instances, Uber has a duty of care to ensure the company hires drivers with clean criminal records.
Uber drivers assume a duty of care to protect passengers from getting hurt in motor vehicle accidents. The same emphasis on the duty of care concerns the commission of crimes by an Uber driver.

Breaching the Duty of Care Doctrine

Element number two requires your Uber sexual assault attorney to present persuasive evidence that Uber committed one or more acts of negligence by hiring a driver with a criminal record. Since Uber has a duty of care to hire drivers that have not committed past sexual assaults, hiring a driver with a record of sexual assault and harassment is considered in most cases to be a breach of the duty of care doctrine.

Sexual Assault Harmed You

This element is easy to prove with the help of the results of diagnostic tests. Sexual assault leave behind tangible physical evidence that proves the act caused the victim harm. For the emotional side of pain and suffering, your Uber sexual assault lawyer submits documents completed by properly credentialed mental health professionals that attest to the victim’s struggle with damaging mental and emotional issues.

Physical and Emotional Pain Caused Financial Losses

The copies of medical bills, as well as bank statements, inform the judge hearing your lawsuit about the extent of your financial losses. However, demonstrating the cost of mental and emotional distress does not involve presenting tangible evidence. Your Uber sexual assault lawyer calculates the value of pain and suffering by referring to a formula that includes the factor called economic damages.

What Is the Deadline for Filing a Premises Liability Lawsuit?

You have a limited amount of time to file a civil lawsuit against Uber, an Uber driver, or both parties. Since premises liability is a part of personal injury law, the deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit is the same as the deadline for filing a premises liability lawsuit. Referred to as the statute of limitations, each state has established a deadline for filing a civil lawsuit against Uber or an Uber driver. Most states have set the statute of limitations between two and four years, with the remaining few states establishing a deadline as long as six years or as short as one year. The day of the sexual assault committed by an Uber driver is the day when the clock starts ticking on the statute of limitations.

The Uber sexual assault lawyer that you work with from Morgan and Morgan ensures you file a civil lawsuit long before the expiration of the statute of limitations. You should act with a sense of urgency for two significant reasons. First, your medical expenses can quickly run into thousands of dollars. With mental and emotional treatments included in your medical expenses, you might accumulate debt that exceeds $10,000. Quickly filing a civil lawsuit after a sexual assault helps you pay down debt. The second reason for filing a civil lawsuit as soon as possible after a sexual assault committed by an Uber driver is to obtain the most accurate version of events from witnesses.

If you do not file your civil lawsuit before the deadline, the court clerk processing your lawsuit dismisses your case.

Discover whether Uber, an Uber driver, or both parties should assume legal liability for a sexual assault by scheduling a free case evaluation today with an Uber sexual assault lawyer at Morgan and Morgan.