A rider has filed a lawsuit against rideshare company Uber, claiming that she was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by one of its drivers during a ride in Cartagena, Colombia.
The lawsuit filed by the plaintiff, identified as L.B., names Uber Technologies, Inc., Uber Colombia S.A.S., Rasier LLC, and Rasier-CA LLC as defendants. According to the complaint, the incident occurred on January 23, 2025, after L.B. booked a ride through the Uber app while traveling from Café Havana to Hotel Estelar. The driver allegedly bypassed her destination despite her protests and took her to an isolated location, where he assaulted her. The complaint further states that when L.B. attempted to report the incident to Uber, the company provided inadequate responses and threatened account deactivation rather than offering assistance.
The lawsuit accuses Uber of negligence in hiring and supervising drivers, failure to warn passengers of potential risks, breach of contract by not providing safe transportation, and vicarious liability for the driver’s alleged actions. The plaintiff contends that Uber’s practices expose riders to risks due to insufficient background checks and safety measures. The complaint also alleges that Uber has been aware of misconduct concerns involving drivers since at least 2014, but failed to implement adequate protections.
L.B. is seeking compensatory damages exceeding $150,000, punitive damages, attorney fees, and other relief deemed appropriate by the court.
The plaintiff is represented by attorney Joseph Ciaccio of Napoli Shkolnik PLLC. The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York under Case ID 1:25-cv-05257.