A lawsuit was filed against Uber after one of its drivers caused a collision in Miami Beach, Florida. The suit was brought by Richard Day, M.D. and his wife Jean Day. Dr. and Mrs. Day were in town for a medical conference in December of 2015. The couple requested an Uber ride, and driver Ingrid Parra picked them up from the Eden Roc Hotel. Ms. Parra immediately crashed into another car after turning into traffic along Collins Avenue. Ms. Parra was issued a citation for failing to yield to oncoming traffic.
The crash had devastating effects for the couple. Dr. Day broke his leg in the collision. Mrs. Day suffered traumatic brain injuries and has undergone several surgeries. Prior to the incident, Mrs. Day was a nurse specializing in the administration of anesthesia.
In November, Lyft, a similar ride sharing company, was sued for a crash involving a motorcyclist and one of Lyft’s drivers in the Miami area. In that case, the motorcyclist was killed after a Lyft driver failed to yield the right-of-way at a stop sign.
In the Day case, the lawsuit claims Uber failed to realize the driver was not qualified, was unsupervised, and had not received sufficient training. Both Uber and Lyft require a large amount of part-time drivers to provide sufficient coverage and keep rates down. However, the Miami-Dade commissioners are now threatening to impose a fingerprint requirement for drivers for ride sharing companies. The commission will vote in May of 2016.
If you or someone you know was injured or killed in an accident involving an Uber driver or any other type of driver, it is important to understand your right to recover. Contact an attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling (713) 222-7211 or toll free at 713-222-7211 for a confidential consultation.