Ambulance Chasing Lawyers Seek More Money From Rideshare Companies in California

Personal injury lawyers in California are hoping to extract more money from rideshare companies in civil lawsuits by pushing a ballot initiative that would significantly increase liability for sexual assault. Uber is behind a competing initiative that would put a cap on attorneys’ fees.The competing ballot initiatives qualified for the November ballot on Wednesday evening. One initiative, proposed by Uber, would limit the amount personal injury lawyers can take from settlements, putting a 25 percent cap on attorneys’ fees in car accident cases. In California, attorney fees usually come in between 33 percent and 40 percent. It would also increase the plaintiffs’ burden of proof for certain medical expenses. Uber cast its initiative as an effort to help protect Californians from “billboard lawyers” who “make millions” but leave plaintiffs “broke and broken.” A group representing civil trial lawyers, Consumer Attorneys, counters that Uber is simply trying to make it harder to sue the company — and to shield itself from liability in fatal crashes involving self-driving cars.A lawyer opposed to Uber’s initiative, Deepak Gupta, wrote on X that the measure “seeks to silence victims by blocking their access to court.” The president of Consumer Watchdog, Jamie Court, told a California TV station, ABC 10, that attorneys’ fees come out of settlements and that if a cap is put in place, “You’re not going to get an attorney to take the case.”Consumer Attorneys initially filed three initiatives in response to Uber’s proposal, but withdrew two of them earlier this year while the remaining one qualified for the ballot on Wednesday. That initiative would hold rideshare companies accountable when a driver sexually assaults a passenger and require that the company perform background checks for drivers. The campaigns for the dueling ballot initiatives have already seen millions of dollars in ad spending, which will likely continue throughout the year. Since January, Uber has spent $42 million to promote its proposal. Consumer Attorneys and other groups have spent more than $50 million on the competing initiative.

Ambulance Chasing Lawyers Seek More Money From Rideshare Companies in California

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