A Florida woman who said she was repeatedly raped by a Lyft driver almost five years ago and then endured a problematic pregnancy is suing the ride-share company for compensatory and punitive damages.
Tabatha Means filed the federal lawsuit against San Francisco-based Lyft on Jan. 9 in the Northern District of California, alleging that the company is liable for injuries its driver inflicted on the plaintiff. Means subsequently endured a problematic pregnancy in 2019 that resulted in a premature son being born.
“As a direct and proximate result of the intentional, negligent, reckless, grossly negligent conduct of Lyft, (the) plaintiff was repeatedly raped by the Lyft driver, which humiliated, degraded, violated and robbed her of her dignity and personal safety,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit alleges that Lyft became aware that some of its drivers were assaulting and raping women passengers in 2015 and that the company’s efforts to protect passengers from sexual predators have been inadequate.
“Lyft continues to hire drivers without performing adequate background checks,” the lawsuit says. “Lyft continues to allow culpable drivers to keep driving for Lyft. And, perhaps most importantly, Lyft has failed to adopt and implement reasonable driver monitoring procedures designed to ensure the safety of its passengers.”
A statement from the ride-share company emphasized that Lyft values its customers’ safety and that behaviors described in the lawsuit cannot be tolerated. But the company challenges some of the facts presented in the lawsuit.
“The alleged incident from 2019 did not take place on the Lyft platform while using the Lyft app, but rather involved a separate trip arranged between the individuals involved,” the statement says.
The company has also put policies in place that protect the safety of drivers and riders alike, according to Lyft.
“... We are always working to make Lyft an even safer platform,” the statement says. “Lyft has a dedicated, around-the-clock safety response team, a partnership with ADT to aid in emergencies and works with leading national organizations to inform our safety policies.”
When they apply for Lyft positions, prospective contractors go through background checks designed to flag criminal convictions or poor driving records. County and federal court records are consulted by a third party to evaluate driver applicants.
The criminal background checks are repeated annually.
The lawsuit describes the complications of Means’ pregnancy as a nightmare that led her to lose contact and support from family members.
“Plaintiff endured three hemorrhage episodes before giving birth to her son, the first of which resulted in hospitalization and required her to take short-term disability because she could not work,” the lawsuit states. “The third time (the) plaintiff hemorrhaged; she was taken to the hospital via ambulance where an emergency C-section was performed. Plaintiff delivered her son at 33 weeks.”
In her current situation, the plaintiff lives from paycheck to paycheck, cannot plan for her children’s future education and cannot provide therapy that the family needs in the wake of ongoing depression and anxiety, according to the complaint.
Means seeks economic and noneconomic damages for physical pain, mental anguish, medical expenses and lost earnings, as well as punitive damages, attorney fees and other litigation expenses.