Can you sue Uber or Lyft if a driver sexually assaulted you?

If you need support right now, RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline is at 800-656-4673 and rainn.org.

Can I talk to a lawyer without committing to anything?

Yes. A first conversation is confidential, and nothing happens after it unless you decide it should.

You don't need to tell your story in detail. At the start, a lawyer mostly needs the app, the rough date, and the place. You don't need a police report to have that conversation, and you can pause or stop at any point.

What is the Uber sexual assault MDL (MDL 3084)?

It is a group of federal lawsuits against Uber gathered in front of one judge, called a multidistrict litigation, or MDL. Its formal name is In re Uber Technologies, Inc., Passenger Sexual Assault Litigation, MDL No. 3084, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California before Judge Charles R. Breyer.

Bloomberg Law reported about 5,000 cases as of October 5, 2026. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation counted 4,397 in its report of August 3, 2026. The court has used "bellwether" trials: early test cases that show how juries respond to the evidence.

What has happened in the Uber sexual assault lawsuits in 2026?

Results have varied widely. Bellwether juries returned an $8.5 million verdict and a $5,000 verdict, and a third bellwether settled confidentially before trial.

Case	Court and date	Result
First MDL bellwether	Federal court in Phoenix, February 2026	$8.5 million in compensatory damages. The jury found the driver acted as Uber's apparent agent, rejected the negligence and product-defect claims, and awarded no punitive damages. Uber said it would appeal.
Second MDL bellwether	North Carolina, April 2026	$5,000 verdict
Third MDL bellwether, Jane Doe QLF 001 v. Uber, W.D. Tex., No. 1:26-cv-01694	Federal court in Texas; settlement announced October 2, 2026	Settled confidentially before trial
California state court trial	San Francisco Superior Court, September 30, 2025	The jury found Uber negligent but not a substantial factor in the harm, a defense verdict

Sources: NBC News and Reuters (first bellwether); Bloomberg Law, October 5, 2026 (second and third); Insurance Journal, October 2, 2025 (California).

These are other people's cases. They show the range of what has happened, not what will happen in yours.

Is there a similar case against Lyft?

Yes. Federal cases against Lyft were centralized in February 2026 as MDL No. 3171 in the Northern District of California, before Judge Rita F. Lin. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation reported 72 actions pending as of August 3, 2026.

How often are sexual assaults reported on Uber?

Uber's own numbers show thousands of reports. Its U.S. Safety Report, published in August 2024 and covering 2021 and 2022, listed 2,717 reports in its five most serious sexual-assault categories across roughly 1.8 billion trips.

Those figures count only what was reported to Uber. If you never reported what happened to the company, that does not stop you from getting legal advice now.

What legal claims do survivors bring against Uber and Lyft?

In plain words, there are three main theories, and they have fared differently in court:

• Apparent agency. The company presented the driver in a way that led you to reasonably believe the driver was acting for the company, so the company answers for what the driver did. This theory won in the first bellwether.
• Negligence. The company did not take reasonable care, for example in how it screened drivers. The first bellwether jury rejected this claim. The California state jury found Uber negligent but not a substantial factor in the harm.
• Product defect. The app or ride system lacked safety features it should have had. The first bellwether jury rejected this claim too.

Texas requires local, state, and national criminal background checks and a sex-offender registry check for rideshare drivers, repeated annually (Tex. Occ. Code § 2402.107). Illinois requires criminal and sex-offender registry checks under its TNC Act (625 ILCS 57). Florida's check includes the National Sex Offender Public Website, is repeated at least every three years, and a registry match disqualifies a driver (Fla. Stat. § 627.748).

Do I have to go to arbitration?

No, not if you choose otherwise. At the survivor's election, a predispute arbitration agreement or joint-action waiver is unenforceable for a case relating to a sexual assault or harassment dispute, under the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (9 U.S.C. §§ 401–402). That law applies in Florida, Texas, and Illinois alike, and it covers claims that arose on or after March 3, 2022; an older assault needs a closer look at the app's terms. An arbitration clause in the app's sign-up terms does not have to keep your case out of court.

How long do I have to file?

It depends on the state and on whom you are suing, so have a lawyer check your deadline soon, even if you aren't ready to decide anything else.

Texas. The general personal injury deadline is two years (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003). A five-year period may apply instead to personal injury arising from conduct that violates Penal Code § 22.011(a)(1) (sexual assault) or § 22.021(a)(1)(A) (aggravated sexual assault), among other offenses (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.0045(b)). Whether it applies to a claim against a company, rather than the person who committed the assault, is a legal question for your specific case.

Illinois. The general personal injury deadline is two years, with exceptions (735 ILCS 5/13-202). A longer period may apply in some cases, and whether any of them reaches a rideshare company has not been decided.

• The Gender Violence Act may allow a claim against the person who committed the violence within seven years, and a claim against an employer under § 11 of the Act within four years (740 ILCS 82/20).
• Since January 1, 2024, § 11 may make an employer liable for gender-related violence committed in the workplace by an employee or agent, during an interaction arising from the job, if the employer acted unreasonably and either failed to supervise, train, or monitor the person or ignored reports of similar conduct (740 ILCS 82/11).
• Whether a rideshare company counts as a driver's employer or principal, and whether a rideshare car counts as a workplace, has not been decided. Earlier appellate law allowed corporate liability under the Act only "under some circumstances" (Gasic v. Marquette Mgmt., 2019 IL App (3d) 170756).
• A separate statute may allow an action against a person at any time if it is based on conduct constituting first degree murder, a Class X felony, or a Class 1 felony and the person was convicted. Criminal sexual assault is a Class 1 felony (735 ILCS 5/13-202.1; 720 ILCS 5/11-1.20(b)). That rule requires a conviction and is written around the convicted person, so whether it may reach a company has not been settled.

No one can promise which period applies to you, so it is worth having a lawyer review your dates soon.

Florida. There is no special filing period for adult survivors. The rule that removes the time limit for sexual battery claims applies only when the victim was under 16 (Fla. Stat. § 95.11(10)). A battery claim against the person who assaulted you has four years (Fla. Stat. § 95.11(3)(n)). A negligence claim against a rideshare company may be subject to Florida's two-year period for negligence actions (Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a)). No controlling case has settled this, so the safest course is to have a lawyer check your dates promptly.

Can I keep my name private?

Possibly, but no one can promise it. Courts may permit survivors to use a pseudonym such as "Jane Doe," as the caption of the Texas bellwether, Jane Doe QLF 001 v. Uber, shows. The court decides, and a lawyer can explain the options before anything is filed.

What evidence helps?

Whatever you have is a starting point. You don't need all of it, and you don't need to gather it alone.

• The ride receipt or trip details from the app
• Texts or in-app messages with the driver, and messages you sent to friends or family afterward
• Records from any medical exam or treatment, if you had one
• A police report, if you chose to make one (that decision is yours)
• The names of people you told

Hurt in a crash during the ride as well? Our article on who pays after an Uber or Lyft accident explains the insurance.

Sources

• Bloomberg Law, October 5, 2026: MDL 3084 case count; second and third bellwethers.
• Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, report of August 3, 2026: MDL 3084 and MDL 3171 counts.
• NBC News and Reuters, February 2026: the first bellwether verdict.
• Insurance Journal, October 2, 2025: the San Francisco Superior Court verdict.
• Uber U.S. Safety Report, August 2024: 2021 to 2022 data.
• 9 U.S.C. §§ 401–402: the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act.
• Texas statutes: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 16.003, 16.0045(b); Tex. Occ. Code § 2402.107.
• Illinois statutes: 735 ILCS 5/13-202 and 5/13-202.1; 720 ILCS 5/11-1.20(b); Gender Violence Act, 740 ILCS 82/11 and 82/20; 625 ILCS 57.
• Illinois Gender Violence Act and companies: Gasic v. Marquette Mgmt., 2019 IL App (3d) 170756.
• Florida statutes: Fla. Stat. §§ 95.11(3)(n), 95.11(5)(a), 95.11(10), 627.748.
• RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-4673.

Working with GB Law

Gianna Scatchell Basile is licensed to practice law in Illinois. GB Law starts with the facts and tells you which claims you have. Where a claim belongs with a trial firm or another attorney we work with, we make the introduction, and you will know who is handling what and how any fee is divided before you sign anything. If your matter arose outside Illinois, we can help you find a lawyer licensed where it happened.

Questions people ask

Do I have to report the assault to police before talking to a lawyer?

No. You can talk with a lawyer whether or not you have gone to the police, and whether to report is your decision. If you did make a report, the report number is helpful. If you did not, a lawyer can still explain your options and your deadline.

What if the assault happened a few years ago?

You may still have options, so it is worth asking. In Texas, a five-year period under § 16.0045(b) may apply instead of the general two-year deadline. In Illinois, the Gender Violence Act's seven-year period against the person who committed the violence may apply. In Florida, a battery claim against the person who assaulted you has four years, while a claim against a company may be subject to a two-year period. Whether the longer periods reach a company is unsettled. A lawyer can check your dates.

Will my case turn out like the $8.5 million verdict?

No one can tell you that. In the Uber litigation so far, results have ranged from an $8.5 million verdict to a $5,000 verdict, a confidential settlement, and a California state court defense verdict. Your own facts, evidence, and goals shape your case, not the headline from someone else's.

Does my case have to be heard in California?

Not necessarily. Federal cases in MDL 3084 are centralized before Judge Breyer in the Northern District of California, but the first bellwether was tried in federal court in Phoenix, and the Texas bellwether was a Western District of Texas case. Ask a lawyer what this would mean for your case.

Can I bring a claim against the driver too?

Yes. A civil claim can be brought against the person who assaulted you, separate from any claim against Uber or Lyft. In Texas the five-year period in § 16.0045(b) may apply, in Illinois the Gender Violence Act's seven-year period may apply, and in Florida a battery claim has four years (Fla. Stat. § 95.11(3)(n)). Whether the driver has the money or insurance to pay a judgment is a separate, practical question a lawyer can help you weigh.

Should I delete the app or my messages?

No. Keep the app, your account, and your messages if you can, because they can help show what happened and when. If seeing them is painful, take screenshots, save them somewhere private, and move the app off your home screen instead of deleting anything.