Uber sued by family of six-year-old killed in San Francisco crash

Ride-sharing service firm Uber is being sued by the family of a six-year-old girl who was struck and killed by one of its drivers in San Francisco.

Uber driver Syed Muzzafar hit Sofia Liu and her family at a green light on New Year’s Eve, killing the girl and seriously injuring her mother and younger brother.

Muzzafar has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and gross negligence. Because he did not have a passenger at the time of the crash, however, Uber argues that the company is not liable for any damages, as its drivers are freelance operators, not employees.

In the suit, Liu’s family, which is represented by San Francisco attorney Christopher Dolan, claims Muzzafar was using the Uber app “and was as such an agent and/or employee and/or partner of Uber”. The suit asks for a jury trial on charges including wrongful death and negligence.

This is the first case against Uber and is likely to be hard fought by the company. Uber typically requires drivers to buy their own commercial car insurance, and provides an additional $1m in insurance above and beyond the driver’s. But as the accident happened when Muzzafar did not have an Uber passenger, it will not be covered by Uber’s insurance.

Uber drivers operate using an app that gives them the location of a customer on a smartphone. 

The suit alleges that the app violates California vehicle code 23123, which states: “A person shall not drive a vehicle while using a wireless telephone unless that telephone is specifically designed and configured to allow hands-free listening and talking and is used in that manner while driving,” and that the company and Muzzafar should have known this. 

The suit further calls use of the app the “proximate cause” of the collision, saying it led to Muzzafar being distracted,  and that his distraction was a “substantial factor” in the collision.

Uber declined to comment for this story. Shortly after the fatal crash, the company said it deactivated Muzzafar’s account. “Our hearts go out to the family and victims of the accident that occurred in downtown San Francisco last night. We work with transportation providers across the Bay Area, but we can confirm that this tragedy did not involve a vehicle or provider doing a trip on the Uber system,” it said.

The five-year-old company operates in 50 cities. Liu's death has led to calls from the San Francisco Cab Drivers Association for tighter regulation of ride-sharing services. It is lobbying for Uber and its rivals to be forced to take out the same insurance as taxi firms – covering the car and driver between rides as well as when they have a fare.

“Taxis are regulated to promote public safety. Taxi companies provide professional drivers who receive mandatory training in vehicles that are routinely inspected and insured whether carrying a passenger or not,” Dolan said in a statement.  “Uber, though touting itself as the future of transportation endangers public safety and has thrown transportation back into the wild-west era.”