Uber Sued After Drivers Allegedly Ditched Blind Passengers in the Rain
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) filed a complaint in a San Francisco court alleging Uber mistreated blind customers who used seeing eye dogs.
The lawsuit claims that the e-hailing service refused to transport dozens of passengers because of their dogs, often charging them for cancellation fees, and even abandoning one customer in "extreme weather" because of their dog. Brought on behalf of the NFB and Michael Hingson, a blind California man, the lawsuit also details cases of passengers whose dogs were badly mistreated by Uber drivers.
One such customer, Leena Dawes, said that her Uber driver forced her dog into a closed trunk and then repeatedly refused her requests to let her out of the car.
NFB’s California chapter President Mary Willows told Time she had previously met with Uber representatives but the two sides couldn't come to an agreement.
The problem is that drivers are independent contractors, so Uber says they have no control over what they do,” Willows told TIME. And our argument is, if they’re working for you, you do have control over what they do.”
Looks like Uber, which recently nabbed White House strategy guru David Plouffe, is going to need all the top-level expertise it can get to dig themselves out of this ditch. Uber has not returned request for comment.
This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/technology/2014/09/uber-sued-after-drivers-ditched-blind-passengers-in-the-rain/380001/
Read more from The Wire
• Facebook Dabbles in Self-Destructing Posts
• How to Check If You Were Exposed by Today's 5 Million Password Leak
