A woman was recently awarded $8.5 million by a jury in an Uber sexual assault trial which included the revelation that an internal Uber algorithm scored the woman’s ride 0.81 out of 1, indicating an elevated risk for serious safety incidents such as sexual assault, yet Uber failed to assign a different driver or notify the woman.
Jaylynn Dean was awarded $8.5 million in February by an Arizona jury in a trial involving allegations that Dean was sexually assaulted by an Uber driver and Uber didn’t do enough to prevent the assault.
The trial was the first bellwether trial in a federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) involving thousands of similar assault claims brought by passengers.
The verdict, as well as the evidence regarding Uber’s internal algorithm, could have major implications for other victims pursuing lawsuits against the company.
Call us today for a FREE, confidential consultation at (800) 718-4658 or contact us if you or a loved one was sexually assaulted by an Uber driver. Our compassionate, empathetic, caring, trauma-informed sexual abuse lawyers can help you secure justice and financial compensation and charge no legal fee until we win.
Table of Contents
- What Is Uber’s Safety Algorithm?
- How Uber’s Safety Algorithm Became Key Evidence in the $8.5M Sexual Assault Case
- Why Didn’t Uber Warn Dean After Her Ride Was Flagged?
- What the $8.5M Verdict Against Uber Means for Future Lawsuits
- Other Evidence of Uber’s Negligence at Trial
- Who Can File an Uber Sexual Assault Lawsuit?
- Contact Our Uber Sexual Assault Attorneys Today
What Is Uber’s Safety Algorithm?
It was revealed during the trial that Uber uses an internal safety monitoring system which assesses rides in real time for risk of serious safety incidents such as sexual assault.
This algorithm assigns a numerical risk score to each ride. Higher scores indicate a greater likelihood of a dangerous incident.
The existence of this algorithm suggests that Uber has long been aware that certain rides carry elevated safety risks, and adds to the growing evidence that Uber has long known that safety is a real problem for its passengers.
This tool was not disclosed to passengers. This means riders had no way of knowing their trips were identified as being potentially dangerous.
How Uber’s Safety Algorithm Became Key Evidence in the $8.5M Sexual Assault Case
Evidence provided during the trial showed that Dean’s November 2023 ride was assigned a score of 0.81 out of 1 by Uber’s algorithm. This score indicated an elevated risk for a serious safety incident such as a sexual assault.
Dean was sitting alone in the vehicle’s back seat at night and was intoxicated, according to court documents.
The existence of the algorithm and the score Dean’s ride was given were some of the most damaging pieces of evidence introduced during the bellwether trial.
Dean’s lawyers argued that this evidence showed that Uber knew women riding alone at night faced higher sexual assault risks, yet failed to publicly disclose these risks.
Why Didn’t Uber Warn Dean After Her Ride Was Flagged?
Uber failed to notify Dean that her ride had been flagged by the company’s algorithm despite the 0.81 risk score indicating that her ride involved an elevated risk of a serious safety incident.
Uber failed to assign a different driver or take any precautionary method prior to the alleged assault occurring.
Dean was allegedly raped by the driver while she rode alone, intoxicated, in the vehicle’s back seat.
Uber terminated the driver for a violation of its policy which prohibits sexual contact with passengers. However, the company has maintained that the driver and Dean had a consensual sexual encounter.
Uber had tools like its internal algorithm at its disposal which it could have used to prevent sexual assaults. The company also could have chosen to do other things to prevent sexual assaults, such as implementing more thorough background checks and requiring cameras in vehicles.
However, sexual assaults have occurred because the company chose not to use these tools or implement these changes. Uber needs to be held accountable for their negligence.
What the $8.5M Verdict Against Uber Means for Future Lawsuits
The Arizona jury awarded $8.5 million to Dean, according to the New York Times, rejecting Uber’s argument that it can’t be held liable for criminal acts committed by drivers it classifies as independent contractors.
The verdict was the first in the federal Uber sexual assault MDL, which includes thousands of similar cases which were originally filed nationwide.
Court documents say that the Uber driver was acting as an employee, servant and agent of Uber when the alleged assault occurred. This finding directly undercuts the company’s long-standing argument that its drivers are just independent contractors.
This not only paves the way for future Uber sexual assault lawsuits, but may also lead to gig-economy companies finding it harder to avoid liability for misconduct committed by their workers.
Other Evidence of Uber’s Negligence at Trial
Dean’s attorneys presented wide-ranging evidence pointing to a broader pattern of negligence by Uber:
Uber Ignored Prior Passenger Complaints About the Driver
An executive with Uber acknowledged that the company had ignored previous complaints about the driver from passengers.
In addition, Uber failed to request proof of prior employment, references or resumes when it hired the driver.
Uber’s Background Check Process Was Expedited
According to court documents, Uber hired a third-party company, Hirease Inc., to do background checks which could clear drivers in a mere 36 hours.
Unlike a lot of livery services and taxi companies, Uber failed to require fingerprinting or comprehensive background checks via private databases like FBI records.
The lawsuit also alleged that Uber mailed cell phones to its new drivers to allow them to start accepting rides prior to Uber’s background checks being fully completed.
Internal Communications Showed Effort to Suppress Assault Stories
Internal Slack messages sent by Andrew Hasbun, global safety communications director with Uber, included statements regarding suppression of negative media coverage about assault claims.
Hasbun wrote, in 2018, that the company “can and should” kill stories whenever possible to mitigate any impact on Uber’s reputation.
Hasbun testified during a deposition that he had lied while defending Uber from accusations of rape.
Uber’s Own Safety Report Acknowledged the Scale of the Problem
Uber, in a 2019 safety report, publicly disclosed that 5,981 sexual assaults were reported regarding U.S. Uber trips in 2017 and 2018.
In addition, Uber reported that 12,522 serious sexual assaults occurred between 2017 and 2022.
However, a New York Times investigation revealed in 2025 that unsealed court documents indicated that Uber might have received over 400,000 complaints of sexual assault or misconduct during that time period, or about one report for every eight minutes.
Uber agreed to pay $9 million in 2021 in a settlement involving the California Public Utilities Commission after the company failed to provide adequate sexual assault data to state regulators.
Who Can File an Uber Sexual Assault Lawsuit?
You may qualify to file an Uber sexual assault lawsuit if you or a loved one:
- Were an Uber passenger
- Experienced sexual assault (including unwanted advances or indecent exposure), physical touching, kidnapping and/or false imprisonment by an Uber driver
- Possess information or a ride receipt which proves you were a passenger with Uber
You do not need to have reported the incident to police to pursue a civil claim.
Courts are letting plaintiffs file lawsuits anonymously in this litigation, so you may sue Uber anonymously.
Passengers and third parties who were harmed may qualify to file.
The evidence in the Dean trial regarding Uber’s algorithm strengthens negligence claims by showing Uber had tools to identify high-risk rides and chose not to use the tools to prevent sexual assaults.
Contact us for a free case evaluation to find out if you have a claim.
Contact Our Uber Sexual Assault Attorneys Today
You shouldn’t have to bear the burden of the consequences of Uber’s negligence alone. Our compassionate, trauma-informed attorneys are ready to hear your story when you are ready to share it. We’ll listen to your story and fight to recover the justice and compensation you deserve, fighting to hold Uber accountable for their negligence.
Call us today for a FREE, confidential consultation at (800) 718-4658 or contact us if you or a loved one is a survivor of sexual assault by an Uber driver.
Why Sexual Assault Survivors Trust Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers
- We have been successfully handling sexual assault cases since 1990.
- Our responsive legal team provides clients with 24/7 availability, frequent case updates and reliable communication.
- We provide free consultations and charge no legal fee until we win.
- Our team has the comprehensive resources to take on big corporations like Uber in court and win.
- We have a high-stakes litigation team that has decades of experience successfully handling high-value cases.
- Our lawyers provide trial-ready representation, as we’re not afraid to go to court to fight for the full value of your case.
- We and our legal teams have recovered over $750 million for clients.
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. All cases are unique and results depend on cases’ specific facts.
Call us today for a FREE consultation at (800) 718-4658.
