Uber Faces Lawsuit Over Passenger Safety, Alleged Sexual Assaults
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Two women who claim they were sexually assaulted by Uber drivers are suing the ride-hailing company over passenger safety.
The 52-page complaint, filed Thursday in US District in San Francisco, alleges Uber fails to protect its female riders by performing inadequate background checks on drivers.
A Connecticut resident identified only as Jane Doe 1 and a Florida woman listed as Jane Doe 2 claim several recent incidents similar to their cases indicate "systemic deficiencies regarding Uber's safety measures concerning drivers."
Read: Complete Uber Lawsuit
Both women were allegedly sexually assaulted by Uber drivers. Boston Police arrested one Uber driver and charged him with assaulting Jane Doe 1 on February 7.
Police charged another driver with assaulting Jane Doe 2 in Charleston, S.C., on August 9.
"Uber's claims of rider safety have proven to be false and hollow. Investigations into its safety measures reveal that Uber routinely fails to adequately screen its employees and regularly hires drivers with known criminal histories, at the expense of its customers who are placed squarely in danger," the lawsuit reads.
The company responded to CBS Boston with a statement defending its actions.
"We proactively worked with law enforcement in Massachusetts and South Carolina at the time to share information and aid their investigations," the statement said. "Both drivers have been permanently removed from the platform."
Uber also noted that one of the drivers charged passed two separate background checks.