# Woman brings triple liability lawsuit after she’s left disabled by her distracted driver



## BurgerTiime (Jun 22, 2015)

Full:
https://www.wxyz.com/news/detroit-w...becoming-permanently-disabled-following-crash








A lawsuit has been brought against ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft, as well as Raiser LLC, the company that creates the apps for both services, after a woman says she was left permanently disabled due to her driver being distracted while using the apps.

The incident occurred on Oct. 17, 2017.

The plaintiff, Sheila Hawkins, of Detroit, is being represented by Royal Oak-based Rasor Law Firm, PLLC.

According to court documents, Hawkins had set up a prearranged ride through Lyft. During her ride, her Lyft driver, who was also a driver for Uber, was allegedly logged into both ride-sharing apps while transporting the plaintiff and traveling eastbound on I-696.

The lawsuit states that the defendant was driving distracted while interacting with both apps, which lack a hands-free option, when he crashed into a semi-truck that was stopped. The defendant was driving at 70 miles per hour, according to court documents.

Representatives for Hawkins state that the use of these apps cause "serious distraction" and violate Michigan's driving ordinances, which is cited by Michigan's distracted driving statute.


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## Drivincrazy (Feb 14, 2016)

Maybe U and L will now reconsider all that unnecessary screen tapping. It is absolutely excessive...like..."do you really want to log off?", and, upon ending rides with ratings, and going out of driver mode, etc.


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## TBone (Jan 19, 2015)

Drivincrazy said:


> Maybe U and L will now reconsider all that unnecessary screen tapping. It is absolutely excessive...like..."do you really want to log off?", and, upon ending rides with ratings, and going out of driver mode, etc.


Its one tap to pick up and I always end the ride and rate the person while stopped and dropping someone off. 
This sounds like the driver didnt log out of the Uber app and had to play with their phone while driving, Definitely his fault and he should have just ignored the pings until it was safe to mess with the phone.


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## Fozzie (Aug 11, 2018)

Sadly, Uber and Lyft will settle this out of court, paying her more than most drivers would earn driving full time for decades. 

Another payoff subsidized by drivers.


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## peteyvavs (Nov 18, 2015)

Of course Lyft will settle and take more from all the drivers to pay her. That’s Uber and Lyft’s magic formula.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Drivincrazy said:


> Maybe U and L will now reconsider all that unnecessary screen tapping. It is absolutely excessive...like..."do you really want to log off?", and, upon ending rides with ratings, and going out of driver mode, etc.


They just added MORE !


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## Z129 (May 30, 2018)

"Raiser LLC, the company that creates the apps for both services"

Is that true?


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

Z129 said:


> "Raiser LLC, the company that creates the apps for both services"
> 
> Is that true?


Fact checking is SOOO 1990s


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## UBERPROcolorado (Jul 16, 2017)

BurgerTiime said:


> Full:
> https://www.wxyz.com/news/detroit-w...becoming-permanently-disabled-following-crash
> 
> 
> ...


These people are always looking for a free ride. Car crashes happen. Mistakes can be made. Life is not perfect.

If a rider is dumb enough to hop in a car with a driver that may have no formal training, barely vetted and completely unsupervised.....she should consider herself luck to be alive.


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## Dammit Mazzacane (Dec 31, 2015)

The internet (and common sense) tells me Lyft is not tied in with Raiser LLC. Raiser is a wholly owned subsidiary of Uber.
I'd post the links but you'll just have to look it up yourself.


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## Gulfstream Echo Niner (Dec 24, 2018)

BurgerTiime said:


> Full:
> https://www.wxyz.com/news/detroit-w...becoming-permanently-disabled-following-crash
> 
> 
> ...


Royal Oak-based Rasor Law Firm, PLLC.



UBERPROcolorado said:


> These people are always looking for a free ride. Car crashes happen. Mistakes can be made. Life is not perfect.
> 
> If a rider is dumb enough to hop in a car with a driver that may have no formal training, barely vetted and completely unsupervised.....she should consider herself luck to be alive.


What's the "formal training" drivers are receiving?
_"How to antagonize & escalate a problem passenger issue _
until driver _charged with felony kidnapping and assault" ?_


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## njn (Jan 23, 2016)

So if my phone rings when I'm driving and I crash, can I sue Verizon?

There was a lawsuit a few years back where the distracted driver sued the person texting him or her.

Don't all partners have to use binding arbitration?


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## Danny3xd (Nov 7, 2016)

UBERPROcolorado said:


> These people are always looking for a free ride. Car crashes happen. Mistakes can be made. Life is not perfect.
> 
> If a rider is dumb enough to hop in a car with a driver that may have no formal training, barely vetted and completely unsupervised.....she should consider herself luck to be alive.


LoL;






I think they really do have to many and it is distracting. Especially with new drivers. Was half waiting to see a lawsuit happen.


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## KD_LA (Aug 16, 2017)

njn said:


> So if my phone rings when I'm driving and I crash, can I sue Verizon?


You should sue Verizon, the carrier of the person calling you, the person calling you, Alexander Graham Bell's descendants for inventing the phone, Motorola and Martin Cooper for inventing the cell phone, Travis and Dara for starting/running Uber, the bully who stole your lunch money in 6th grade, and mom and dad for bringing you into the middle of this fine mess. Oh and Al Gore too for allegedly inventing the internet! Did I leave anyone out?


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## Emp9 (Apr 9, 2015)

UBERPROcolorado said:


> These people are always looking for a free ride. Car crashes happen. Mistakes can be made. Life is not perfect.
> 
> If a rider is dumb enough to hop in a car with a driver that may have no formal training, barely vetted and completely unsupervised.....she should consider herself luck to be alive.





UBERPROcolorado said:


> These people are always looking for a free ride. Car crashes happen. Mistakes can be made. Life is not perfect.
> 
> If a rider is dumb enough to hop in a car with a driver that may have no formal training, barely vetted and completely unsupervised.....she should consider herself luck to be alive.


These ppl? She now has i disability. She may lose her income for life. Smh.


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## UBERPROcolorado (Jul 16, 2017)

Emp9 said:


> These ppl? She now has i disability. She may lose her income for life. Smh.


Anyone stupid enough to take a rideshare cannot complain when things go wrong. Unless you live in a cave, everyone must know by now that taking a rideshare is a risk. A big risk.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

This is actually the correct way for the woman to handle it.

These sorts of things happen to cab companies to, they just aren't national news because thy aren't playing the "jump on uber" bandwagon.


The truth is... the honest to god truth...

She should only be going after the company who she was riding under at the time, and she is going to get a crap-load of money over this...

This is why taxi drivers pay out the wingwang for commercial insurance.


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## getawaycar (Jul 10, 2017)

Doesn't Uber and Lyft insurance policy cover such accidents? I heard each driver is covered for one million dollars.

Of course, she could be getting a lot more than that.


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## 1.5xorbust (Nov 22, 2017)

Jackpot. When in doubt sue everybody.


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## getawaycar (Jul 10, 2017)

1.5xorbust said:


> Jackpot. When in doubt sue everybody.


Being a cripple for life isn't hitting the jackpot.

So if your driver causes an accident that leaves you with serious, permanent injuries you wouldn't sue anyone?

You'd rather be a poor cripple for life than a wealthy one? Corporations love brown-nosers like you!


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## 1.5xorbust (Nov 22, 2017)

getawaycar said:


> Being a cripple for life isn't hitting the jackpot.
> 
> So if your driver causes an accident that leaves you with serious, permanent injuries you wouldn't sue anyone?
> 
> You'd rather be a poor cripple for life than a wealthy one? Corporations love brown-nosers like you!


I don't see anything wrong with her lawsuits. I'd much rather be a wealthy cripple than a poor one.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

getawaycar said:


> Being a cripple for life isn't hitting the jackpot.
> 
> So if your driver causes an accident that leaves you with serious, permanent injuries you wouldn't sue anyone?
> 
> You'd rather be a poor cripple for life than a wealthy one? Corporations love brown-nosers like you!


Yup..

Money goes quick...

$150 for a wheelchair...

$80 a week in uber rides to rehab cause you can't drive with 2 legs in casts.

$30 a rehab session in co-pay

Rent cause you can't work...

The insurance company (whoever was providing customer driving insurance) is going to take the brunt of the lawsuit, that's why uber has $1,000,000 coverage.


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## KD_LA (Aug 16, 2017)

Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> Yup..
> 
> Money goes quick...
> 
> ...


Sounds like a Mastercard commercial...

Wheelchair, $150
Weekly Uber rides to rehab, $80
Rehab co-pay, $30
Sue Uber for everything they have, priceless


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## BurgerTiime (Jun 22, 2015)

Sad the driver is being sued. As an “independent contractor” he may lose his house and be in debt just to defend his case. That’s the American judicial system and no recourse if you lose. French courts make you pay if you lose. That’s why they have a super low lawsuits in civil court.


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## mbd (Aug 27, 2018)

Pay off and make sure future news is purged ( pay $$ to news outlets not to cover any bad stories)


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## IGotDrive (Oct 8, 2018)

Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> Fact checking is SOOO 1990s


LOL



UBERPROcolorado said:


> These people are always looking for a free ride. Car crashes happen. Mistakes can be made. Life is not perfect.


Free ride? Lol...I'd sue, too. The apps, with their obstructive pop-ups and requested interaction, ARE dangerous. Especially Lyft, how they block your GPS if you do anything other than accept their ride requests.



UBERPROcolorado said:


> If a rider is dumb enough to hop in a car with a driver that may have no formal training, barely vetted and completely unsupervised.....she should consider herself luck to be alive.


Sad, but true. The cost of an extremely cheap ride by a driver who has to juggle apps to get decent pay.


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## part-timer (Oct 5, 2015)

UBERPROcolorado said:


> These people are always looking for a free ride. Car crashes happen. Mistakes can be made. Life is not perfect.
> 
> If a rider is dumb enough to hop in a car with a driver that may have no formal training, barely vetted and completely unsupervised.....she should consider herself luck to be alive.


Wow, great attitude. Hope you have a safe ride to work....NOT!


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## Eugene73 (Jun 29, 2017)

BurgerTiime said:


> Sad the driver is being sued. As an "independent contractor" he may lose his house and be in debt just to defend his case. That's the American judicial system and no recourse if you lose. French courts make you pay if you lose. That's why they have a super low lawsuits in civil court.


sad perhaps, but any driver working as an unincorporated business is simply waiting for trouble


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