Lyft Can Be Sued for Failing to Protect a Child from Sexual Abuse
A federal court has said that Lyft can be held liable for the sexual abuse of a teenage girl. Per Law360, “The suit… claims that on Jan. 3, 2022, co-defendant Christopher Harvey called a Lyft driver to pick up Doe, then 14, and drive her to New York, where she was sexually abused. The suit says Lyft was negligent and that the driver should have verified Doe’s age before letting her in the car.”
Lyft originally filed a motion to dismiss the case, and the young girl’s family “moved to amend” its complaint after that filing, withdrawing their claim for negligent hiring and retention, supervision, and training. Instead, they filed another claim for vicarious liability. They also added additional allegations to the claim, which include emotional distress and loss of familial consortium. Lyft opposed the motions, but the Court disagreed, saying that the amendments were acceptable and the case could move forward.
Why Lyft may be held liable for sexual abuser of a minor
Lyft can be held liable for sexual abuse and assault – or a minor or an adult – because of the theory of vicarious liability. This says companies are responsible for the negligence of their workers. If a Lyft driver had caused a car crash, the injury victim could sue; the same is true if a driver assaults or rapes a passenger.
In this case, the Lyft driver did not directly harm the young girl But he never checked the ID of Doe, either, despite her young appearance AND Lyft’s own rule regarding the transportation of minors without adults. (It’s not allowed.) This rule, in fact, is part of the reason why the judge is allowing the case to move forward: the rideshare company could and should have anticipated or predicted the harm that could come from driving an unaccompanied child.
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