Drivers, passengers file suit against Lyft
A mother of two, Stella Grant lost her job early in the pandemic. One of her friends suggested she start driving for Lyft, which she did — a decision she now calls “a mistake.”
“Things started off well. But about a year ago, my life changed forever just because of that decision,” she said.
Ms. Grant is part of a group of 17 Lyft passengers and drivers from across the country who are suing the ride-share company over allegations of physical and sexual assault during Lyft rides that they claim reflect an inability to ensure the safety of its users.
Two of the plaintiffs — including Ms. Grant — are drivers from Illinois who claim they were victims of physical assault while driving for Lyft.
On Wednesday, three sexual assault survivors and two physical assault victims, accompanied by their lawyers, shared their stories at an online news conference. The complainants joined the call from California, Arizona, Connecticut and Illinois.
Adam Wolf, partner at the law firm Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise, said that “Lyft has created a national crisis.”
“Lyft’s response to this crisis — it’s been appalling. Lyft continues to hire drivers without performing adequate background checks and continues to allow culpable drivers to keep driving Lyft,” Mr. Wolf said. “Most importantly, Lyft has failed to adopt and implement reasonable driver monitoring procedures designed to protect the safety of its drivers and passengers alike.”
In an emailed statement to the Tribune, Lyft said, “We’re committed to helping keep drivers and riders safe. While safety incidents on our platform are incredibly rare, we realize that even one is too many. Our goal is to make every Lyft ride as safe as possible, and we will continue to take action and invest in technology, policies and partnerships to do so.”
Lyft said that “well over 99% of Lyft rides occur without any safety report at all,” and that the company has “introduced numerous safety measures in order to address safety incidents” on its platform.