Dozens of sexual lawsuits have been filed against Lyft over the last few years. The first wave of lawsuits occurred in 2019, with more following each year thereafter.

• Lyft is a prominent ride-sharing company with billions of dollars in annual revenue. It has been accused of putting profits before passenger safety.
• After years of campaigning from victims’ groups, Lyft and Uber were pressurized into releasing comprehensive safety reports. Lyft’s report, released in 2021, detailed 1000s of incidents of sexual assault and 100s of rape allegations.
• Numerous lawsuits have been filed by people assaulted during Lyft rides. They claim Lyft did not properly vet drivers and that the company did not take allegations seriously.
• It’s worth noting that many of the incidents of sexual assault have been reported by drivers who claim to have been assaulted by passengers. Drivers, too, have been filing sexual assault lawsuits against Lyft.

After a long campaign, Lyft released its first safety report in 2021, which showed over 4,000 allegations of sexual assault between 2017 and 2019. Today, many passengers who were assaulted during rides are pursuing compensation against the company, claiming it failed to protect them and did not handle allegations properly.

In response to criticism over passenger safety, Lyft stated that over 99% of its journeys were safe. But with over 20 million Lyft rides recorded in 2022, it’s worth remembering that even a small percentage of unsafe journeys can add up to 100s, if not 1000s, of assaults each year. Campaigners pressurized Lyft for years to release statistics on passenger safety, and it finally relented in 2021 (after several delays), showing that over 4,000 incidents of sexual assault and 360 instances of rape had occurred. In 2019, partly in response to the growing number of lawsuits, Lyft announced new safety measures, which included sexual harassment prevention training for employees, an in-app 911 feature for riders, and criminal background checks for drivers. Yet, Lyft (founded in 2012) operated for many years without such safety procedures. As with Uber, the main criticism aimed at Lyft is that it failed its passengers by not properly vetting drivers who may have later committed sexual assault. Moreover, Lyft has been accused of not being forthright and transparent about its sexual assault problem: In 2022, it was forced to pay $25 million to shareholders because it failed to adequately inform them of threats to its reputation – the safety report and numerous sexual assault allegations –  before the company went public.  

If you have been sexually assaulted or raped during a Lyft ride, you might be eligible to file a claim against Lyft. Eligibility may depend on various factors, including the statute of limitations for sexual assault in your state. Numerous lawsuits have already been filed, and it’s almost certain more will come due to the scale of sexual assault mentioned in Lyft’s safety report.

If you believe you have been assaulted during a Lyft ride, you should contact a lawyer. They will inform you of your rights and eligibility, and they will file a case on your behalf if you wish to proceed.

Not yet. Lyft has faced class action lawsuits in the past, including one from its drivers over their classification as independent contractors, not employees. Right now, Lyft sexual assault lawsuits are being taken on an individual basis, although judges have suggested the cases can be grouped together for expediency. Grouping the cases together does not necessarily mean it will become a class action. It’s simply a mechanism for the courts to deal with a large number of cases. New Lyft sexual assault lawsuits could be added to an existing group.

Because of the scale of the ride-hailing app sexual assault lawsuits, many law firms across the country have been specializing in handling Lyft sexual assault cases. Contacting a Lyft sexual assault case lawyer can:

• Review your case and inform you if you are eligible for compensation from Lyft.
• File your case with respect to any deadlines imposed by the courts.
• Negotiate a settlement with Lyft on your behalf.
• Take your case to court if necessary.