Summary: An Uber driver hit a 6-year-old girl in a crosswalk, leaving her dead and her family trying to put their life back together, now made easier with a settlement.
A 6-year-old girl, Sophia Liu, was killed in 2013 while crossing the road in a crosswalk with her family in San Francisco. The family was struck by Uber driver, Syed Muzzafar. He was charged with vehicular manslaughter and banned from working with Uber.
The Liu family’s attorney, Christopher Dolan, announced that the terms of the settlement are confidential. Dolan stated “while nothing will ever bring Sofia back, they are grateful to the American judicial system for providing them a way to resolve the legal issues raised by Sofia’s death.”
Uber had claimed that Muzzafar was not on duty or actively taking a job while the Uber app at the time of the crash but the family claimed he was logged into the program and waiting for a job. The Liu family said that no matter what Muzzafar job status was at the time, Uber was still responsible.
The crash is one of the most serious that has happened concerning safety concerns involving Uber. The ride-hailing service operates in over 250 cities in 57 countries. Uber has seeing a number of issues from their minimal background checks on drivers. A woman in Houston claims her driver was an ex-con that drove her home and then raped her. A woman in Dehli, India claims she was raped by an Uber driver. There a number of other allegations ranging from sexual assault, kidnapping, groping, and physical assault.
Uber is also facing legal troubles for their business model where they classify drivers as contractors instead of employees.
Source: http://www.cnet.com/news/uber-settles-lawsuit-over-fatal-sf-crash-that-killed-girl/
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