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Uber and Lyft have been in the news in recent years because of the prevalence of assaults on female passengers by male drivers. However, drivers may also encounter difficulties. Many female drivers for Uber and Lyft have reported terrifying encounters with passengers.

Some drivers say that they regularly face harassment by male passengers, many of whom are drunk. Sexual assaults against drivers have occurred. When a scary incident happens, not only does it affect the driver emotionally, it can also affect her paycheck. When female drivers experience a scary incident, they often take days off of driving or may choose to driver earlier in the day, when there is less money to be made.

Uber and Lyft have been lauded by many as offering a wonderful solution for mothers who may have childcare responsibilities but also need to earn a living. However, many women who drive for Uber and Lyft report frequently encountering harassment or assaults. Uber and Lyft allow drivers to report incidents in the app or through a call line. They have also added new safety features to the app. Both companies emphasize how important safety is to them. Critics believe the companies could do a lot more to help improve safety for riders and drivers.

If you are a driver or a passenger for Uber or Lyft and you have been harmed, you may wish to speak with an attorney. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles ride share attorney, at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.

In a class action lawsuit brought by amputee attorney Conal Doyle, the federal district court granted class certification, finding that United Healthcare engaged in nationwide common claims handling practices that can be challenged on a class wide basis. The lawsuit challenged United’s practice of denying covered prosthetic component parts, and failing to inform amputee patients that an alternative prosthetic device would be approved when denying claims. A trial on the merits of the case, that is, whether United’s claims practices are unlawful, is scheduled for April 2019. The lawsuit seeks to reform United’s claims practices and to require a re-processing of denied claims during the past six years.

David Trujillo vs. United Health Group, Inc. Court Order

A confidential internal memo from Uber that was obtained by CNN shows that there is a team of investigators whose job it is to keep Uber safe. According to the memo, those investigators are overworked, underpaid, and at times traumatized as they work with a very heavy workload.

The 26-page memo was prepared by an outside risk management consultant. It shows that Uber’s Special Investigations Unit is handling hundreds of cases a week. It has 60 investigators and 15 team leaders. The Unit’s job is to handle the most serious incidents reported to Uber, including assaults, rapes, thefts, serious traffic accidents, and verbal threats.

According to the report, conditions inside the unit were so bad that the memo warned of risks to the investigators, even the risk of suicide. Most of the investigators were in their 20s and 30s, and some have little or no experience in the field. Investigators have massive caseloads – the team manages almost 1,200 cases a week. Serious incidents can damage the company financially and hurts its reputation. Uber has been pushed to release its data on allegations of sexual abuse and assaults of passengers, but the company has said the numbers will not be ready until later this year.

Many rideshare companies hire drivers with questionable backgrounds, which can lead to assaults on riders, thefts, and traffic accidents. If you have been harmed by a driver for a rideshare company such as Uber or Lyft, you should speak with an attorney. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles personal injury attorney, at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.

I’m sorry to hear about the death of your loved one. Under California law, a wrongful death claim arises when a person dies because of the wrongful act or negligence of another person or business. A wrongful death claim is filed in civil court by survivors of the deceased individual or by the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate.

Under California law, only certain people are allowed to file a wrongful death lawsuit in California. The people who can sue for wrongful death include the deceased person’s surviving spouse, children, or domestic partner, or a family member who would inherit the deceased person’s estate. Also, stepchildren, parents, and a “putative spouse” can sue for wrongful death if they can prove they were financially dependent on the deceased individual.

If a plaintiff is successful in his or her wrongful death claim, there are a number of types of damages that can be awarded. Financial losses are often awarded, which could include funeral and burial expenses, medical and hospital bills for the deceased person’s illness or injury, and lost income from the deceased. The surviving family members may also be able to recover money for the loss of love from the deceased person, the loss of anticipated financial support, and the value of household services.

Wrongful death claims in California must be filed within two years of death. Because time is critical in these claims, it’s important for family members who think they may have a potential wrongful death claim to speak with an attorney right away. If you are in the Los Angeles area, call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles personal injury attorney, at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case.

The victim of an alleged sexual assault by a California Lyft driver has filed a lawsuit against the company. She says that acts of sexual violence by drivers for Lyft have become pervasive. She also says that her attack was captured on a home surveillance system.

The complaint alleges that the driver raped the unconscious woman after assorting her into her house. The woman had blacked out from drinking by the time she arrived at home. She woke up the next morning bruised, naked, and bleeding. The entire assault, which lasted 30 minutes, was captured on the woman’s home video surveillance system. The driver is also facing a variety of sexual charges, including using a concealed camera to film under the woman’s clothing. He is facing almost 18 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

The victim’s attorney says that the company misrepresents itself to the public as being safe. The company advertises itself as an “alternative to drinking and driving”, but there have been a number of assaults against riders in recent years. The lawsuit claims that the company targets a female market and routinely fails to adequately screen its drivers, hiring people with criminal histories. The lawsuit also alleges that Lyft has a history of failing to cooperate with law enforcement, complying with only about half of the law enforcement requests for information it received in 2017. The victim is seeking monetary damages and is asking that Lyft implement safety changes.

If you have been harmed by the actions of a Lyft or Uber driver, you may be able to make a claim against the company as well as the driver. You should speak with an attorney. If you are in southern California, call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles personal injury attorney, at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case.

There is no worse feeling for parents than when their children are harmed because of someone else’s negligence. You should speak with a Los Angeles personal injury attorney if your child has suffered an injury because of the negligence of an individual or a corporation. The most common types of cases involving harm to children include automobile accidents, drownings, medical malpractice cases, day care injuries, and dangerous product cases.

When a child is hurt in an accident, there is often an immediate impact on the child, as well as future implications for the child which could last a lifetime. An attorney can help build a strong case by hiring experts that can help show the financial impact of an injury on a child for a lifetime.

An attorney can also help determine specifically what happened in an accident involving a child. Children are often unable to talk about details regarding what happened. Experts can help reconstruct the accident, and then the attorney can help put together the evidence needed to hold the individual or corporation legally responsible.

An attorney representing a child must look at both the immediate as well as the long-term impact of the accident on the child’s life. It can be easy for a jury to overlook the long-term implications of an injury on a child’s growth and development. An attorney can help show all of the current and future issues have have resulted from the injury.

If your child has been injured in an accident in the Los Angeles area that was caused by another party, you should speak with a Los Angeles personal injury attorney. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles personal injury attorney, at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to learn more.

A California mom recently sued Lyft, alleging that a Lyft driver kidnapped her children. The incident occurred when the woman dropped her car off at a dealership for service. The dealership called the woman a Lyft and when it arrived she put booster seats in the car and her two children in the car. When she was bucking the children up, the driver took off with the woman’s daughters, ages five and six.

The woman claims that the driver was gone for 15 minutes before finally answering a phone call from the dealership’s manager. The driver only returned after being threatened with an Amber alert.

The woman says that her daughters have not been the same since they were taken and that they have been experiencing emotional issues. The woman says that Lyft is responsible for providing a safe ride for customers and that the driver should not have been allowed to drive anyone. Lyft said it could not respond to the complaint because it had been filed so recently.

Unfortunately, allegations against Lyft and Uber drivers for taking actions to harm their customers are not unusual. Many experts believe that Lyft and Uber do not take sufficient steps to ensure that their passengers are safe from drivers.

If you or a loved one have been harmed by the actions of an Uber or Lyft driver, you should speak with an attorney. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles personal injury attorney, at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case.

A CNN investigation found that at least 103 drivers for Uber in the U.S. have been accused of sexually assaulting or abusing their passengers in the last four years. At least 31 drivers have been convicted of crimes from false imprisonment and forcible touching to rape. Many criminal and civil cases against drivers are currently pending.

Data regarding the number of sexual assaults by Uber drivers or by drivers for other rideshare companies is not publicly available. CNN’s analysis came only from a review or police reports and databases for 20 major U.S. cities.

Uber provides over 15 million rides a day and promotes itself as providing a “safe ride home”. Some of its campaigns show women taking Ubers for nights out. It has partnered with Mothers Against Drunk Driving in order to urge users to take Uber instead of driving drunk. Uber also set up a kiosk in Canada to offer free rides to those who blew into breathalyzers.

However, many of the women who have been attacked by Uber drivers had been drinking or were intoxicated at the time of the attacks. Drivers told CNN that they were not provided any type of sexual harassment or assault training, although the company did specify that no sexual contact is permitted between drivers and passengers.

Uber says that safety is the company’s top priority, and says that it is changing some of its safety protocol. For example, it plans to rerun driver background checks on an annual basis. It also will have an emergency button allowing users to call 911 from inside the app.

Uber is not the only rideshare company dealing with sexual assaults by drivers. There have been many cases of Lyft drivers accused of sexual assaults as well. Lyft also claims that safety is a top priority for the company.

Uber and Lyft have both faced lawsuits from riders who have been sexually assaulted or raped by drivers. Both companies have been accused of not doing enough to keep their riders safe. If you have been harmed by a driver for Uber, Lyft, or another rideshare company, you should speak with an attorney. If you are in Los Angeles, call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles personal injury attorney, at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case.

Earlier this year, a taxi driver died after an Uber driver kicked him. The Uber driver has not been charged in the man’s death. The victim’s family is asking that authorities criminally charge the Uber driver for his actions.

The taxi driver was double-parked outside a high-rise in Chicago talking with another taxi driver when an Uber driver pulled up behind him and began honking for him to move. The taxi driver did not move. Eventually, the Uber driver pulled up to the passenger side of the taxi and punched the sideview mirror and drove away. The taxi driver pursued the Uber driver for about a block before pulling his car in front of the Uber driver’s car. The taxi driver got out of his car, approaching the Uber vehicle. After a brief conversation, the taxi driver walked around the Uber driver’s car and used his hand to flip his sideview mirror, to show the Uber driver what he had done to the taxi.

The Uber driver then got out and performed a karate kick to the taxi driver’s dead. A bicyclist who saw the event tried to stop the Uber driver from leaving and was almost hit himself. Police arrived and took the driver into custody. The taxi driver never regained consciousness and died two days later. The death was ruled a homicide by blunt force trauma.

As of three months after the attack, the Uber driver still had not been charged. The victim’s family is putting pressure on the police. After hearing from detectives, Uber removed the driver from the app. The family says it will most likely file a lawsuit against Uber related to their father’s death.

Although it’s unclear if the Uber driver in this case had a criminal history, many experts say that Uber does not do a thorough job screening its drivers before hiring them. The hiring process is done entirely online, and the background checks done on drivers are limited.

If you have been harmed by a driver for Uber or Lyft, you may have legal options. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles personal injury attorney at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case.

Construction work is one of the most dangerous lines of work in the U.S. Although strict regulations are in place about safety at construction sites, building collapses are a reality. In many cases buildings collapses occur because construction rules that are in place were relaxed and were not correctly enforced. If a building collapse occurs on a construction site, an injured construction worker is entitled to compensation for his or her injuries.

If a building under construction collapses, there are several parties that could potentially be held liable. The general contractor, the building’s owner, a sub-contractor, an equipment manager, or another party could be held legally liable. If you have been harmed in a building collapse in Los Angeles, you should work with a personal injury attorney who can help you hold the proper parties accountable for your injuries.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has regulations in place to ensure that workers are kept safe during construction projects. If a building collapses, typically OSHA will perform an investigation to see what happened, why it happened, and to determine what steps should be taken in the future in order to prevent another similar accident in the future.

During a building collapse, workers can be injured in several ways. They may be hit by the building or by falling debris. They may experience a lack of oxygen if they are trapped. There may be flooding on the site or they may face exposure to deadly chemicals. Workers are entitled to compensation for their injuries.

If you have suffered injuries in a building collapse in Los Angeles, you should speak with an attorney. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles personal injury attorney at 310-385-0567. Call today to learn more about your legal rights or to schedule a consultation on your case.