The California transportation start-up Uber, is facing at least 13 active lawsuits ranging from regulatory complaints, cases involving disgruntled freelance drivers, and —more seriously —a wrongful death lawsuit over a six-year-old crash victim in San Francisco. Most recently, reports Berkowitz and Hanna LLC, a 14th case has been filed: a personal injury suit involving a Jupiter (Florida) motorcyclist who was injured in a car accident allegedly caused by one of Uber’s contracted drivers.
Brendan Walsh, aged 19, was driving his motorcycle when a Uber driver collided with the motorcyclist. Walsh spent two days in hospital for road rash and muscle injuries, which he claims still cause him pain. With medical bills ranging from $50K-$75K, he alleges that he had difficulty getting insurance information from Uber. In his complaint, he charges Uber with not properly vetting its drivers. Additionally, the lawsuit calls for “state lawmakers to pass a bill to regulate the service” since “this particular business model is no different than a taxicab business model, other than they order a Uber vehicle with an app on their phone.”
Uber’s troubles have extended beyond the courtroom, notes the firm, since it has also incurred the wrath of 11 state insurance agencies for its insurance practices – namely, “coverage gaps.”
Note: We did not represent any of the parties in this case.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Berkowitz Hanna
