Uber & Lyft Sexual Assault Lawsuits

Rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft are facing a growing number of lawsuits seeking to hold them accountable for the harm experienced by people who were sexually assaulted, abused, harassed or kidnapped by their drivers.

Specifically, the rideshare assault lawsuits claim the companies have misrepresented their platforms as safe and failed to take the necessary steps to ensure riders’ protection despite being aware of the growing number of sexual assaults and misconduct that have been reported during rideshare trips.

Indeed, the New York Times wrote that Uber received over 400,000 reports of sexual assault and misconduct between 2017 and 2022. Yet, according to one Uber sexual assault lawsuit, the company still “market[s] heavily” to young women who have been drinking, representing that Uber can provide safe rides and failing to warn them of the risks of sexual assault.

Now, survivors and their families are taking action against Uber, Lyft and others to recover money for the harm they’ve experienced, including physical pain, mental anguish, medical bills and more.

What Do the Uber and Lyft Sexual Assault Lawsuits Say, Exactly?

According to one Uber sexual assault lawsuit, the company has known since 2014 that its drivers have been physically and sexually assaulting passengers and has failed to implement basic safety measures that would protect riders, such as installing cameras in vehicles and requiring training on sexual assault and harassment for drivers.

The lawsuits also take issue with the company’s background check process. Per one suit, Uber deliberately decided not to fingerprint drivers (a common practice among taxi companies that takes weeks) and instead implemented “a fast and shallow background check process” that prioritized growth over safety. According to the lawsuit, the third-party company that performs Uber’s background checks on drivers boasts a 36-hour turnaround time and fails to check drivers against private databases, such as FBI records.

The lawsuits also claim that Uber has failed to adequately respond to complaints about drivers after they begin working. According to a Washington Post report, investigators hired by Uber to look into serious complaints about drivers found that they would only be deactivated after three “strikes”—i.e., if it was their second or third offense, if there was evidence such as video or a police report, and if the driver admitted to the assault. In one particular case, an Uber driver in New York reportedly made three sexual advances on riders and was permitted to continue driving until a fourth incident, when a passenger claimed he raped her.

The Uber sexual assault lawsuits also claim that Uber misrepresented its rideshare service as safe—including as a safe and responsible option for women who need a ride after consuming alcohol—despite its own data showing the prevalence of sexual assault during Uber trips and even what conditions raise the safety risk of particular trips.

For instance, the jury in an Uber sexual assault lawsuit that went to trial heard that Uber’s risk assessment program, known as Safety Risk Assessed Dispatch or S-RAD, weighs factors such as location, time of day and the driver’s history to score potential driver-rider matches based on the likelihood of a safety incident. These scores are not publicly available but are used by the company to make better matches between drivers and riders. The S-RAD score for the plaintiff’s ride, during which she was allegedly raped by her driver, was 0.81 out of 1.

The Lyft sexual assault lawsuits similarly allege that Lyft was aware of the risk of sexual assault by its drivers but failed to conduct adequate background checks, appropriately train and supervise drivers, respond to driver complaints about sexual assault and misconduct, and implement changes to improve safety during its rides.

Who Can File a Rideshare Lawsuit?

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are pursuing claims on behalf of people who experienced sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct or kidnapping in connection with a rideshare trip. You may be eligible to file a rideshare lawsuit if you experienced any of the following at pickup or dropoff, during your trip, or immediately after the ride ended:

To get in touch with a rideshare sexual assault lawyer, fill out the form on this page. An attorney or legal representative may then reach out to you directly to ask you some questions and explain more.

What’s Involved with Filing a Rideshare Sexual Assault Lawsuit?

If you decide to pursue a rideshare sexual assault or harassment lawsuit, your attorney will begin by gathering relevant information and documentation. You may be asked some questions about your experience, including the time and location of the incident, whether it was reported to the police or rideshare company, and whether you received medical treatment.

Your attorney may also ask you for documentation, such as receipts, emails, screenshots or other proof that the trip occurred. If needed, your attorney may also gather documentation on your behalf, including any relevant police reports or medical records.

Once your attorney has gathered enough information, they will begin to draft your complaint—the legal document that gets filed with the court and officially begins your lawsuit.

Your lawsuit may allege, for instance, that:

After your lawsuit is filed with the court, your attorneys and the attorneys for the defendant will go back and forth in an attempt to resolve the case, including by gathering evidence, consulting experts and submitting motions, briefs and exhibits with the court. Your lawsuit may result in a settlement, a dismissal or a trial, though jury trials are increasingly rare in civil cases.

If you file an Uber or Lyft sexual assault lawsuit, it may be consolidated with other similar cases in a single court before a single judge, which is called multidistrict litigation (MDL). Multidistrict litigation often involves hundreds or thousands of similar lawsuits and was designed to help increase the efficiency of the judicial process and ensure consistent rulings. Once an MDL has been formed, the parties involved may engage in discovery (a process of gathering evidence and information). Following discovery, several of the individual lawsuits may be selected to proceed as “bellwether” trials—a sort of “test run” to provide insight into how juries may rule. For instance, if the plaintiffs (the people who filed the lawsuits) win the majority of the bellwether trials, the defendant may decide to reach a global settlement. If the defendant prevails in most of the trials, a global settlement may not be established.

Thousands of Uber sexual assault lawsuits and dozens against Lyft have already been consolidated into two MDLs, with the bellwether trials in the Uber MDL already underway.

Is This Different from a Class Action Lawsuit?

Yes. The attorneys working with ClassAction.org are not pursuing Uber and Lyft sexual assault cases as class action lawsuits. If you decide to take legal action, you will need to hire your own Uber or Lyft sexual assault lawyer and file an individual lawsuit.

The reason for this is that the attorneys believe the harm people have suffered in these cases is significant and unique enough to warrant individual legal action. Class action lawsuits were designed to provide legal recourse for large groups of people who were all harmed in similar ways and whose losses are not significant enough to justify the cost of individual lawsuits. For instance, people who claim to have purchased falsely advertised supplements could file a class action lawsuit to recover the relatively small amount of money they may have overpaid. On the other hand, a sexual assault survivor may be facing thousands of dollars in medical bills and other losses that outweigh the cost of filing an individual lawsuit.

Read more about the difference between class actions and mass torts.

What Could I Recover from a Rideshare Sexual Assault Lawsuit?

A rideshare sexual assault lawsuit could help survivors and their families recover money for the following:

Successful litigation against Uber, Lyft and others could also require the companies to implement changes to better protect riders who use their platforms.

How Much Does a Rideshare Sexual Assault Lawyer Cost?

The attorneys working with ClassAction.org are handling rideshare sexual assault lawsuits on a contingency fee basis, meaning if they don’t win your case, you won’t pay. If your lawyers are successful, their payment will come as a percentage of your settlement or jury award.

Uber and Lyft Sexual Assault Lawsuits: 2026 Litigation Updates

In February 2026, the first bellwether case to go to trial in the Uber MDL ended with an Arizona jury awarding the plaintiff $8.5 million in damages. The plaintiff claimed she took an Uber after a night of celebrating her upcoming graduation and was raped by her driver while she was drunk.

Although the jury found in favor of Uber on two claims, they sided with the plaintiff on her claim that her Uber driver was an “apparent agent” of the company. This means the jury found that the plaintiff reasonably believed that her driver was an Uber employee acting on the company’s behalf, despite his status as an independent contractor.

The lawsuit was the first of 20 federal bellwether cases, the outcomes of which may help determine if a global Uber sexual assault lawsuit settlement will be reached.

In a second federal bellwether case, a North Carolina jury awarded the plaintiff $5,000 in damages in April 2026, finding that Uber was liable for the behavior of an Uber driver who allegedly grabbed the plaintiff’s inner thigh as she was leaving his car and asked if he could “keep it with him.”

The Uber sexual assault MDL began in October 2023, when nearly two dozen lawsuits were consolidated in California, and as of July 1, 2026, the litigation consists of 3,940 active cases.

On the same day that the $8.5 million Uber sexual assault verdict was handed down, 17 Lyft sexual assault lawsuits were consolidated into multidistrict litigation in Northern California. The lawsuits similarly argue that Lyft was aware that its drivers were sexually assaulting passengers but failed to take steps to prevent it.

So far, there has not been a Lyft sexual assault settlement or verdict, but the litigation is still in its earlier stages.

Uber Sexual Assault Lawsuit FAQs

How much are the average Uber sexual assault lawsuit settlement amounts?

Since the litigation is still in its earlier stages, the average Uber sexual assault lawsuit payout per person is not yet known. However, some experts estimate that sexual assault settlement amounts could range from $50,000 to more than $1 million, depending on the severity of the case, the evidence involved and the incident’s long-term impact on the survivor.

An experienced Uber sexual assault lawyer should be able to help assess the strength of your particular case.

How much does an Uber sexual assault attorney cost?

Many Uber sexual assault lawyers, including those working with ClassAction.org, work on what’s called a contingency fee basis, which means you will only pay if they win your case. If your lawsuit is successful, your lawyers will receive a percentage of your jury award or settlement.

How many Uber sexual assault cases were filed?

According to a July 1, 2026 update from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, 3,940 cases are pending in the Uber sexual assault litigation.

What You Can Do

After you get in touch, an attorney or legal representative may contact you directly to ask you some questions and help determine your eligibility to file a rideshare lawsuit. It doesn’t cost anything to speak with someone, and you’re not obligated to take legal action after learning more about your options. 

Before commenting, please review our comment policy.