Nearly a year ago in March 2018, a woman in Tempe, AZ was killed in a crash involving a self-driving Uber vehicle. The woman’s family has recently filed a $10 million claim against the City of Tempe.

When Elaine Herzberg was hit and killed by the self-driving car, which was a Volvo sport-utility vehicle, she was walking outside of a crosswalk on Mill Avenue. Her husband and daughter, who are being represented by Skousen, Gulbrandsen & Patience, are claiming the city created a dangerous situation by paving the median where pedestrians were not supposed to walk. The lawsuit is seeking $5 million in compensation for each of the surviving family members.

Rideshare companies like Uber provide users with a convenient service for a decent price. Most Uber vehicles are well maintenanced and cleaned and the drivers are courteous and safe behind the wheel. But what happens when an Uber driver isn’t safe? You may feel like you just have to move on from the experience and hope it doesn’t happen again, but this is not the case. Uber provides its customers with a way to report unsafe drivers, in hopes of getting those individuals off the road.

In late December 2018, a lawsuit involving people who were injured after an Uber driver made them leave the car in a dangerous area was brought back by an appellate court in Illinois. They decided that the driver could have reasonably foreseen that the couple could have been injured by a speeding car.

The panel was made up of three judges. They decided that the Uber driver Farid Kessanti and other people involved acted negligently when the Uber passengers Sean Kramer and Jasmine Vega were left in a poorly lit area. The area also had bars and likely had people who weren’t sober, and the Uber driver could have seen that a car collision could possibly happen. The panel brought back this claim because of the context where the passengers were left.

Many people drive for rideshare companies like Uber or Lyft. However, some of the drivers aren’t always the safest, and have the potential to cause auto accidents. While these accidents can be severe, those who were injured have legal options. The Rideshare Law Group is ready to help you fight for your rights.

There are a few signs that will point out a dangerous drivers who are risking an accident happening on the road. Look for the ways that signal your driver isn’t doing their job safely.

When thinking about what service to use when you need a ride, you may automatically think of sending for a driver with your Uber or Lyft app before you’d think about calling for a cab. Rideshare services have made it easy to get a ride and get to where you need to be anytime and almost anywhere.

But just how safe are these rideshare services? It’s likely you’ve heard multiple news reports of accidents and assaults over the past few years, which is why it’s a good idea to evaluate your options when it comes to rideshare services versus other transportation industries.