14 women sue Lyft for allegedly mishandling sexual assault and rape reports

www.facebook.com/TwoCatsVideoProduction Fourteen women are suing Lyft over allegedly mishandling their sexual assault, sexual misconduct and rape complaints against drivers that occurred while using its service, bringing renewed attention to the issue of safety in the ride-hail industry. The women, each listed anonymously in a suit filed Wednesday, allege that Lyft "chooses to stonewall" law enforcement investigating assaults and that it fails to inform victims about the status of the drivers they've accused of sexual assault or rape. They allege that Lyft is negligent in its background checks and fails to protect passengers with added technology. They claim Lyft has chosen to "hide and conceal" the scope of its "sexual predator crisis" on the platform. The alleged incidents, detailed in the 40-page lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court, occurred between January 2018 and June 2019 and span the country from California to North Carolina. Some of the alleged assaults occurred when women used the service at night after they had been drinking, a pattern that 2CNY NEWS has previously reported on. The suit alleges that the company has been aware of drivers sexually assaulting and raping female customers since as early as 2015. One driver accessed his victim's phone after raping her and added a $25 tip on the ride that ended in her assault, according to the lawsuit. In another allegation, a blind woman took a Lyft to the grocery store in the middle of the day; the driver then offered her a free ride home that was not ordered through the Lyft app, and forced himself into her home to rape her, the suit alleges.