One Year Ago Today (August 29, 2022)…A woman is suing Uber Technologies Inc., alleging a driver sexually assaulted her after she fell asleep in the back seat of his car in 2021, a ride she summoned because she felt it too unsafe to drive herself after drinking with friends.
The plaintiff is identified only as Jane EN Doe in the Beverly Hills Superior Court lawsuit against the ride-hailing service, which alleges sexual battery and assault, gender violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence. Doe seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
“Uber’s response to the systemic problem of the sexual assaulting and raping of their female customers and passengers has been woefully inadequate,” the suit states.
Since 2014, thousands of female Uber passengers have endured unlawful sexual misconduct at the hands of their UBER drivers including rape, sexual assault, and physical violence, the suit filed Wednesday alleges.
An Uber representative issued a statement Monday regarding the suit.
“The details reported by the rider are horrifying,” the statement read. “While we can’t comment on pending litigation, we deactivated the driver as soon as the incident was reported to us and are committed to helping police with their investigation.”
According to the suit, on Aug. 21, 2021, Doe sought a ride home from Uber after a night of drinking with friends in downtown Los Angeles.
The driver was about a quarter of a mile away from Doe’s home when he stopped, went into the back seat and sexually assaulted the sleeping plaintiff, the suit states.
Doe continues to have “great pain of mind and body, shock, emotional distress, physical manifestations of emotional distress, embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, disgrace, humiliation and loss of enjoyment of life,” the suit states.