Uber Sexual Assault Lawyer

If you were sexually assaulted during an Uber ride, you have the right to pursue a civil lawsuit against both the driver and Uber Technologies, Inc. Our Uber sexual assault lawyers can help you file this claim regardless of whether the driver was criminally charged or convicted. J&Y Law represents survivors of Uber and rideshare sexual assault throughout California, including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Sacramento. Our consultations are free, confidential, and carry no obligation. 

What Uber Knew and Didn’t Tell You

The scale of what Uber knew makes clear that this was a systemic failure, not a series of isolated incidents involving rogue drivers.

Between 2017 and 2022, Uber received approximately 400,181 reports of sexual assault or misconduct from riders, drivers, and third parties in the United States, according to documents produced in litigation. That averages to roughly one report every eight minutes. Uber’s three public U.S. Safety Reports disclosed only the five most severe categories of incidents, totaling 12,522 reports across the same period — a small fraction of what internal records show.

Uber’s own safety reports document the following incidents in just the 2021–2022 reporting period:

• 335 reports of non-consensual sexual penetration
• 285 reports of attempted non-consensual sexual penetration
• 1,401 reports of non-consensual touching of a sexual body part
• 338 reports of non-consensual kissing of a sexual body part
• 338 reports of non-consensual kissing of a non-sexual body part

Women made up 89% of survivors reporting non-consensual sexual penetration, according to Uber’s second U.S. Safety Report.

Internal documents revealed in litigation also show that Uber developed a risk-prediction tool called Safety Risk Assessed Dispatch (S-RAD), which used 43 indicators — including “creepy driver” feedback and pickup locations near bars — to flag high-risk pairings. In testing, it correctly identified 15% of assaults. Proposals to expand its use, along with other safety measures such as in-vehicle video monitoring and women-driver matching, were delayed or shelved. A 2025 New York Times investigation reported that Uber’s internal teams weighed these tools against the company’s growth priorities.

In October 2025, a California Superior Court jury found Uber negligent in a rideshare assault case, though it did not find the negligence to be a substantial factor in that particular plaintiff’s harm — illustrating how hard these cases can be to litigate alone, and how much the outcome depends on the quality of the evidence gathered and the strength of the legal theory presented.

Why Uber Fights These Sexual Assault Cases Hard

Uber’s terms of service historically contained arbitration clauses that routed individual claims out of public courts and into private arbitration, where proceedings are sealed and patterns of misconduct stay hidden. Many survivors have had to fight just to get their cases into court.

Federal courts have allowed some of these arbitration challenges to proceed. If Uber points to its terms of service as a reason your case cannot proceed publicly, that is not the final word — and it is exactly the kind of obstacle an experienced attorney can help you navigate.

The MDL itself exists in part because courts recognized that consolidating these cases makes it harder for Uber to fight each survivor in isolation.

What You Can Recover

California civil law allows survivors of sexual assault to seek compensation for the full impact of the harm they suffered. In a case against both the driver and Uber, recoverable damages may include:

• Medical bills, including emergency care, surgery, and ongoing treatment
• Therapy and mental health counseling
• Lost wages and diminished earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress, anxiety, PTSD, and trauma-related impacts on relationships and daily life
• Punitive damages, where Uber’s conduct is found to be egregious or malicious

Punitive damages are not available in every case, but where a company knowingly concealed evidence of prior assaults or ignored red flags about a specific driver, courts have the authority to award them.

How J&Y Law Handles These Cases

At J&Y Law, we currently represent rideshare sexual assault survivors throughout California. Our senior trial attorneys have experience in complex personal injury litigation, including cases involving third-party criminal conduct and intentional torts.

We handle these cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you. There are no upfront costs and no fees for your consultation.

What we do when you retain us:

• Secure your Uber trip records and preserve digital evidence
• Investigate the driver’s background and prior complaint history
• Determine whether your case belongs in the federal MDL, California state JCCP, or as a standalone action
• Handle all communications with Uber and its legal team
• Build your damages case, including locating therapists and medical experts experienced with trauma survivors
• Protect your privacy and, where applicable, file under a pseudonym

Your case is yours. We explain your options, answer your questions, and let you make informed decisions at every step.

How Uber Can Be Held Legally Responsible

California law allows you to hold Uber liable for the actions of its drivers, even though Uber classifies its drivers as independent contractors, not employees. Several legal theories apply:

Negligent hiring and retention. Uber performs background checks on drivers but does not fingerprint applicants or conduct drug testing. Drivers need only have held a valid license for one year at the time of hire and receive no formal training. If Uber approved a driver with a history of sexual misconduct, or failed to act on prior complaints, the company can be held responsible for negligent hiring or negligent retention.

Non-delegable duty. In April 2025, Judge Charles Breyer in the federal Uber MDL issued a significant ruling: Uber owes a “non-delegable duty of care” to passengers. This means Uber cannot avoid liability simply by pointing to a driver’s independent contractor status. The duty to protect passengers from foreseeable harm belongs to Uber, period.

Negligence per se and premises liability. California courts have long held that companies controlling a platform that facilitates transportation owe passengers a duty of reasonable care. Where Uber ignored documented complaints about a specific driver, failed to enforce its own safety protocols, or used arbitration clauses to suppress prior incidents from public view, it may face additional liability.

Civil battery. The driver can be held directly liable for civil battery under California law. Civil battery requires only that the defendant intentionally made harmful or offensive contact without consent. A criminal conviction is not required — and in fact, the civil burden of proof is much lower. In a civil case, you must prove it is “more likely than not” that the assault occurred, not “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

What the Ongoing Litigation Looks Like

Uber sexual assault cases are now being litigated in two major venues.

The federal litigation is consolidated as MDL No. 3084, In re: Uber Technologies, Inc., Passenger Sexual Assault Litigation, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California before Senior District Judge Charles Breyer. As of April 2026, the MDL contains 3,391 active cases from 30 states. A Settlement Master was appointed in March 2025 to facilitate negotiations. The first bellwether trial began January 13, 2026, and the jury returned an $8.5 million verdict in early February 2026. A second bellwether trial began April 13, 2026.

A parallel California state court proceeding — the Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding (JCCP No. CJC-21-005188) — is pending in San Francisco Superior Court and includes over 600 additional cases filed by California passengers.

No global settlement has been reached as of May 2026. Individual cases are still being filed and may proceed through either venue. The choice of venue affects your discovery rights, trial timeline, and potential recovery — and experienced counsel can help you evaluate which path makes sense for your situation.

California’s Statute of Limitations for Adult Survivors

Under California Code of Civil Procedure § 340.16(a), adult survivors of sexual assault have the later of:

• 10 years from the date of the last act or attempted act of sexual assault, or
• 3 years from the date you discovered or should have discovered that an injury resulted from the assault.

The discovery rule applies to survivors who did not immediately connect their symptoms to what happened, or who only recently came forward. In those situations, the three-year clock may not have started when you think it did — and you may have more time to file than it appears.

Additionally, Assembly Bill 250, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on October 13, 2025, opened a new two-year revival window running from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2027, for adult survivors whose claims would otherwise be time-barred and who can show that an entity engaged in a cover-up of prior assault allegations. Given the volume of evidence that Uber suppressed or failed to disclose safety data, this revival provision may apply to many survivors.

California also permits survivors to file lawsuits under pseudonyms (as “Jane Doe” or “John Doe”), protecting your identity throughout the legal process.

Do not assume you have missed your window. The law here is complex and the filing deadlines are not always what they appear. A free consultation with an attorney will give you a clear picture of your specific timeline.

What to Do Right Now

The hours and days immediately after a rideshare sexual assault can shape your legal case. Each step below serves a specific purpose in building your claim and protecting your rights.

Get to safety first. If you are still in the vehicle or nearby, move to a public place as quickly as you can.

Seek medical attention. A doctor or hospital can document injuries and perform a forensic examination (a SANE exam) even without a police report. Medical records become a key piece of evidence in a civil case.

Do not delete the Uber app. Uber’s systems preserve your trip receipt, driver information, GPS route, and timestamps. Your in-app record is your proof of the ride. Screenshot it immediately.

Report to Uber. Use the app or Uber’s Safety Support line to report the incident. This creates an official record inside Uber’s system. You are not required to do this before calling an attorney, but it is useful documentation.

File a police report. A report with law enforcement creates an objective third-party record. You do not have to press charges, and your civil case can proceed regardless of how law enforcement responds.

Contact an attorney before speaking further with Uber’s representatives. Uber’s safety team is not your advocate. Anything you say to them can surface later in litigation.