A California jury has ruled that Uber is not liable for the sexual assault of a woman who said she was attacked by her driver during a 2016 ride. The case — considered a bellwether — was closely watched because it could influence the outcome of hundreds of similar lawsuits now pending against the ridesharing company.
A bellwether case is an early test trial in large-scale litigation involving many similar lawsuits. It’s used to gauge how future juries might respond to comparable claims. Judges and attorneys often use the results of a bellwether case to help shape settlement talks or guide how the remaining cases are handled. For example, if juries tend to favor plaintiffs in early bellwether trials, a company may be more likely to offer global settlements rather than risk further trials.
Jury finds negligence, but not causation
After a three-week civil trial in San Francisco Superior Court, the jury found that Uber was negligent in the safety measures it implemented to protect passengers. However, jurors concluded that Uber’s negligence was not a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff’s harm.
The plaintiff, known in court as Jessica C., said that during her ride, her driver pulled off to a side street, restrained, groped, and kissed her without consent. She sued Uber in 2021, alleging that the company failed to protect riders from sexual assault.
Her case was the first of more than 500 similar lawsuits consolidated in California state courts. Another 2,500 related claims are pending in federal court, all alleging Uber failed to prevent assaults by drivers using its platform.
To win a negligence case, a plaintiff must prove four key elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages.
Causation is often the hardest part to prove. It has two components:
- Actual cause (cause in fact): Would the injury have happened but for the defendant’s actions?
- Proximate cause (legal cause): Was the injury a reasonably foreseeable result of those actions?
For instance, if a delivery driver runs a red light and hits another car, that driver’s negligence is both the actual and proximate cause of the crash. But if someone is harmed hours later in a completely different event only loosely connected to that driver’s actions, the link may be too remote to hold the driver liable.
In Uber’s case, the jury decided that although the company may have been careless in implementing safety policies, its conduct was too far removed from the driver’s criminal actions to be considered the legal cause of Jessica C.’s assault.
Uber safety practices under scrutiny
The lawsuits against Uber allege that the company knew drivers were assaulting riders but failed to take sufficient preventive steps. Plaintiffs claim Uber could have reduced risks by implementing policies such as pairing female riders with female drivers or requiring dashcams to record all rides. They also accuse Uber of keeping internal data about assault reports hidden from the public.
Uber has argued that it cannot be held responsible for the criminal conduct of individual drivers. The company points to its driver background checks, safety education programs, and ongoing efforts to improve rider protection.
In a statement after the verdict, Uber said it has “worked for years to raise the bar on safety” and will continue to strengthen those measures.
How the Uber verdict could shape future sexual assault cases
This verdict serves as an early test of how courts may interpret Uber’s relationship with the independent drivers who use its app. Uber’s central defense is that its drivers are independent contractors, not employees — an important classification that generally limits a company’s legal responsibility for a worker’s actions.
Still, this outcome doesn’t end Uber’s legal troubles. Thousands of similar cases are still moving forward, and the public is paying attention.
In recent years, Uber has introduced new safety tools, including in-app ride verification, trip audio and video recording options, and real-time anomaly detection (which alerts Uber if a ride takes an unusual route or ends unexpectedly). The company has also partnered with survivor advocacy organizations and launched its “Driving Change” initiative, pledging $10 million to support groups working to end gender-based violence.
Despite these efforts, concerns persist. A congressional committee recently requested more information from Uber about its internal response to sexual assault claims. According to the company’s 2023 U.S. Safety Report, serious sexual assault reports have decreased by 44 percent since 2017–2018, though thousands of incidents were still documented during the most recent reporting period.
As more cases move toward trial, Uber will continue to face legal and public pressure over how it balances safety, accountability, and innovation in the rideshare industry.
At Enjuris, we’ll keep you updated on the remaining Uber assault cases and other major legal developments impacting injury victims, consumers, and everyday riders.
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