Assault survivors sue Lyft over failure to protect app users and drivers
SAN FRANCISCO – A number of victims of sexual and physical assault are suing San Francisco-based Lyft for their failure to protect passengers and drivers.
Some of the 17 suing survivors shared their stories Wednesday after the legal action was announced. All of them were assaulted while using the Lyft app, either as passengers or drivers.
The plaintiffs and their attorneys explain that the lawsuit underlines what they term a "nationwide crisis."
"It's unconscionable that Lyft was aware of the ongoing problem for years and did virtually nothing," said Adam Wolf, one of the lawyers for the firm representing the plaintiffs. "Lyft spends massive amounts of money on woke marketing messages and lobbying, but it refuses to protect its drivers and passengers."
The lawsuit points at Lyft hiring drivers without adequate background checks as well as letting culpable drivers and passengers continue to use the app after incidents occur.
"I want people to know what has happened, because this has not stopped. It keeps happening and it will happen over and over again until something is done by Lyft to fix this problem," said Chicago resident and former Lyft driver Stella Grant, who was physically assaulted while driving for the company.
Another plaintiff, Lyft driver and Napa resident Amy Collins, filed her complaint at San Francisco's State Superior Court over an assault that happened on March 1, 2020. Collins said she picked up an intoxicated male passenger who made inappropriate comments before groping and choking her for the duration of the 10 minute ride she provided.
"He got up in between the driver's side seat and passenger seat, and was on top of me telling me 'You're so beautiful. I love your breasts,'" Collins said in an interview with KPIX 5. "He had his hands around my neck choking me, and then he would just keep fondling me. I kept trying to push him back, but he kept coming at me. And my phone was right here, but I couldn't get to it to call 911."
"This assault was traumatizing to me both mentally and emotionally, something I am still dealing with today," Collins said in a statement. "I developed depression after the assault and stopped working for two weeks. All I wanted to do was curl up in bed and stay there because I felt so dirty and ashamed about what had happened."
Last year, Uber and Lyft partnered to produce a database of problematic drivers in an attempt to address years of complaints and lawsuits over sexual assault and other crimes.
Tracey Cowan, another attorney representing the plaintiffs, told KPIX 5 that the company must improve driver and customer safety on the platform by implementing changes like enhanced background checks, dash cams, route monitoring, improved law enforcement cooperation, and counseling for victims.
"All we can hope for is baby steps and incremental change. I would love to see all of those things happen. If some combination of those things happened, I think it would be a win," said Cowan.
Lyft released a statement Wednesday saying the company is focused on the safety of both drivers and riders'.They also said they will take action and invest in "technology, policies, and partnerships to do so."
Kiet Do contributed reporting.