Uber found liable in sexual assault case in US and ordered to pay $8.5 million

A federal jury in the United States this week found Uber to be legally responsible in a 2023 case of sexual assault — ordering the rideshare giant to pay $8.5 million to a woman who said one of its drivers raped her during a trip using the platform.

The verdict, reached Thursday in Arizona, follows years of criticism against Uber’s safety record, much of which spans from thousands of incidents of sexual assault reported by both passengers and drivers.

Because Uber drivers are categorized as gig workers — working as contractors, rather than company employees — the platform has long maintained that it’s not liable for their misconduct.

But Thursday’s verdict validates “survivors who have come forward at great personal risk to demand accountability,” stated Sarah London, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiff, who said Uber had put its “focus on profit over passenger safety.”

Uber plans to appeal the jury’s decision.

A spokesperson also noted the jury didn’t find the company to be negligent, nor that its safety systems were “defective,” and that the award was “far below” the full amount initially requested from the plaintiffs’ lawyers.

The verdict “affirms that Uber acted responsibly and has invested meaningfully in rider safety,” spokesperson Andrew Hasbun said in a statement — adding that the company continues to “put safety at the heart of everything we do.”

The lawsuit stems from an Uber ride in November 2023, when the plaintiff was heading to her hotel after celebrating her upcoming graduation from flight attendant training at her boyfriend’s home in Arizona.

Partway through the ride, the complaint alleged, the driver stopped the car, entered the back seat and raped the woman.

The plaintiff immediately reported the incident to Uber and the police, and the complaint noted that she no longer felt safe using the platform.

The lawsuit said she was not alone — arguing that Uber had long known its drivers were assaulting passengers, and that it didn’t implement the safety measures needed to stop this from happening.

“Uber’s response to these ongoing sexual assaults by Uber drivers has been slow and inadequate and has put the lives and well-being of its customers at grave risk,” the complaint, filed in December 2023, read.

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