Getting into a rideshare means trusting a stranger with your safety. Thousands of riders say Uber betrayed that trust by putting drivers on the road without meaningful screening and by burying assault reports for years. Fob James Law Firm represents survivors of rideshare sexual assault in claims against Uber and Lyft, with total confidentiality from the first call forward.
Federal juries have now spoken twice, and survivors are being heard. If a driver assaulted, groped, kidnapped, or harassed you during a ride, an experienced rideshare sexual assault attorney can tell you exactly where your claim fits.
Uber Sexual Assault Litigation — August 2026 Status: More than 3,700 cases are consolidated in MDL 3084, In re: Uber Technologies, Inc., Passenger Sexual Assault Litigation, before Judge Charles Breyer in the Northern District of California. The first bellwether trial ended February 5, 2026 with an $8.5 million verdict for the survivor; a second jury found Uber liable in April. Roughly 1,350 claims were reported subject to pending settlement agreements as of July 2026, with the next bellwether set for fall 2026. Lyft faces parallel claims in California state court.
What These Lawsuits Say Uber Knew
Uber’s own safety reports acknowledge thousands of sexual assault reports across recent years. The lawsuits allege the company knew its background checks missed dangerous drivers, rejected fingerprint screening that taxi companies use, and marketed itself as the safe way home for women anyway. The first bellwether jury found Uber responsible as a common carrier, the legal standard that holds transportation companies to the highest duty of care toward passengers.
Who Can File a Rideshare Assault Claim
Survivors of assault, attempted assault, groping, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or serious sexual harassment during an Uber or Lyft ride may qualify, whether the ride happened last month or years ago. Claims are routinely filed under Jane Doe or John Doe pseudonyms. It does not matter if police never charged the driver, and it does not matter if you kept riding afterward; juries understand trauma better than defense lawyers hope.
Evidence That Strengthens Your Case
Save the trip receipt and route history in the app, screenshots of any messages with the driver, the clothes you wore, medical and counseling records, and the names of anyone you told afterward. Report the assault inside the app so Uber’s own records confirm it. If some of that evidence is gone, do not rule yourself out; app data and Uber’s internal files can be obtained in litigation.
Deadlines and Why Waiting Hurts
Every state sets its own statute of limitations for assault claims, and some are as short as one to two years. Alabama survivors generally face a two-year window under Ala. Code § 6-2-38, though the facts of each case can change the math. A lawyer can confirm your deadline in one phone call, and the call costs nothing.
How Fob James Law Firm Handles Survivor Cases
You speak with an attorney, not a call center. Your name stays protected, your story stays private, and you decide the pace. We handle rideshare assault claims on contingency, so there is no fee unless you recover. Call (205) 407-6009 for a free, confidential consultation with a rideshare sexual assault lawyer.
What Uber’s Own Reports Acknowledge
Uber has published U.S. safety reports acknowledging thousands of sexual assault reports across its reporting periods, spanning categories from non-consensual touching to rape. Plaintiffs allege the company had this data for years while continuing to market itself as the safe ride home, rejecting fingerprint-based background checks, and keeping in-app safety features optional. Those choices, not the driver’s crime alone, are what the litigation puts on trial, and the first bellwether jury’s common-carrier finding shows courts are willing to hold the platform to a carrier’s duty of care.
The Claim Process, Step by Step
First, a confidential conversation with an attorney, at no cost, where you share only what you are comfortable sharing. Second, evidence work: we secure your trip data, request Uber’s internal records on the driver, and gather medical and counseling documentation. Third, filing, typically under a Jane Doe or John Doe pseudonym, into MDL 3084 or the appropriate state court. Fourth, your case participates in coordinated discovery while individual settlement negotiations and mediation sessions continue under the court-appointed settlement master. You control every decision that matters, including whether to settle and for how much.
What Compensation Can Cover
Survivor claims are valued around therapy and psychiatric care, medical treatment, lost income and diminished earning capacity where trauma disrupted work, pain and suffering, and punitive damages where the proof supports punishing the company’s conduct. The two bellwether verdicts to date, $8.5 million in one case and a modest award in another, show the honest truth: individual facts drive individual values, and no lawyer can quote a number before knowing your case.
Drivers and Riders Alike
Most claims come from passengers, but drivers assaulted by riders have rights too, and we evaluate those cases the same way. Fob James Law Firm represents survivors across Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee, filing into the federal MDL or state court as each case’s facts and deadlines dictate.
Uber and Lyft Sexual Assault Lawsuit FAQs
Is there an Uber sexual assault class action?
The federal cases are consolidated in MDL 3084 in the Northern District of California, with more than 3,700 cases as of August 2026. Each survivor’s claim is valued individually; it is not a class action with one shared payout.
What have juries awarded so far?
The first bellwether trial ended in February 2026 with an $8.5 million verdict. A second jury in April 2026 found Uber liable as a common carrier and awarded modest damages on that case’s facts, and further bellwether trials are scheduled for fall 2026.
Can I file against Lyft too?
Yes. Lyft assault claims proceed in parallel litigation, primarily in California state court, and our attorneys evaluate Uber and Lyft cases the same way.
Will my name become public?
Survivors routinely file under Jane Doe or John Doe pseudonyms, and courts in this litigation have protected survivor identities throughout.
What does it cost to hire a lawyer?
Nothing up front. These cases are handled on contingency, so you owe no fee unless compensation is recovered for you.
Related Practice Areas
Fob James Law Firm, LLC, 2226 1st Ave S, Suite 105, Birmingham, AL 35233. Call (205) 407-6009 any time. Free consultation, and no fee unless we win.