Atlanta Rideshare Sexual Assault Attorney

In Need of a Rideshare Sexual Assault Lawyer?

A rideshare passenger gives up significant control the moment they get into someone else’s vehicle. The driver controls the car, chooses where to stop, and physically occupies the space between the passenger and the destination.

At the same time, the rideshare platform knows who accepted the trip, where it began, where it was supposed to end, and how the vehicle moved along the way.

When a rideshare driver sexually assaults a passenger, those circumstances can make the resulting civil case very different from other sexual assault claims.

Wrongful Death Krause Law Firm represents people in Atlanta and throughout Georgia who have suffered serious harm because of others’ actions.

In rideshare sexual assault cases, our attorneys investigate the individual responsible for the assault as well as the records, prior complaints, screening information, digital evidence, and corporate decisions that may help explain how the incident occurred.

If you were sexually assaulted while using a rideshare service in Atlanta, our attorneys can evaluate your legal options during a free confidential consultation.

The Driver Controls More Than the Destination

Passengers use Uber, Lyft, and other rideshare services for many of the same reasons they use any transportation service. They may be commuting, traveling to the airport, meeting friends, attending an event, or trying to get home safely after a night out.

Once the trip begins, however, the passenger is inside a private vehicle operated by someone they generally have never met.

That can create dangerous circumstances when a driver has predatory intentions.

A rideshare sexual assault may involve:

• Unwanted sexual touching.
• Forced sexual contact or penetration.
• A driver exposing themselves or engaging in sexual acts.
• Sexual threats or coercion.
• Refusing to allow a passenger to leave the vehicle.
• Locking the doors or continuing to drive after being told to stop.
• Deliberately deviating from the expected route.
• Taking a passenger somewhere other than the requested destination.
• Assaulting a passenger who is asleep, impaired, ill, or otherwise unable to protect themselves.
• Contacting or pursuing a passenger after the ride has ended.

These cases are not limited to what happens while the vehicle is moving. An assault may occur after the driver reaches the destination, after the passenger exits the vehicle, or when a driver uses information obtained through the ride to make unwanted contact later.

The Digital Trip Record Can Become Critical Evidence

Unlike an encounter with an unidentified stranger, a rideshare trip typically generates electronic information before the passenger ever enters the vehicle.

That digital trail can become important evidence after an assault.

Depending on what information exists and can legally be obtained, an investigation may seek records identifying the driver and vehicle; the time the ride was requested and accepted; pickup and drop-off information; GPS or route data; in-app communications; trip changes; and reports made to the rideshare company.

That information may help answer questions such as:

• Did the vehicle leave the expected route? A significant or unexplained deviation may help reconstruct what happened before, during, or after an assault.
• Where did the vehicle stop? Location information may identify parking lots, streets, buildings, or other places where additional surveillance footage or witnesses could exist.
• What happened immediately after the trip? Messages, calls, safety reports, and other records may document a survivor’s actions while events were still recent.
• Was the person driving the approved rideshare driver actually? Confirm the identity of the person behind the wheel rather than assuming it solely from the account associated with the trip.

Preserving these records can be an important part of investigating the case.

Can Uber, Lyft, or Another Rideshare Company Be Held Responsible?

The person who commits a sexual assault can be held responsible for their own conduct. Establishing civil liability against a rideshare company presents a separate legal question.

Under Georgia law, a company is not necessarily responsible simply because an individual was providing services through its platform when intentional misconduct occurred. Sexual assault is an intentional act, and questions involving employment status, agency, the scope of a person’s work, and the company’s own conduct can make corporate liability complicated.

That means a rideshare assault case should not begin with the assumption that Uber, Lyft, or another company is automatically liable.

Instead, an investigation may need to determine whether evidence shows negligence attributable to the company itself.

Depending on the circumstances, relevant questions can include:

• What screening was performed before the driver gained access to the platform?
• Did the company receive previous safety complaints involving the driver?
• Were there earlier allegations of threatening, sexual, or otherwise inappropriate behavior?
• Was the driver previously suspended or investigated?
• Did the company have information suggesting the driver posed a risk to passengers?
• What action, if any, was taken after earlier complaints?
• Was someone other than the approved driver using the account?

Answers can vary widely from one case to another. Establishing that an assault occurred does not, by itself, establish that a rideshare company was negligent.

Prior Complaints May Be Especially Important

One of the most significant questions in a potential negligent hiring or retention claim is what a company knew or reasonably should have known before someone was harmed.

Georgia law requires employers to exercise ordinary care in selecting employees and not to retain them after learning of incompetency. In sexual misconduct cases, the connection between earlier warning signs and the eventual harm can become particularly important.

For example, a general complaint about driving may carry different significance from a previous allegation that a driver sexually harassed, threatened, followed, touched, or attempted to isolate a passenger.

That is why obtaining the driver’s history can matter.

Prior complaints, incident reports, communications, screening information, and disciplinary records may help determine whether the assault was an unforeseeable act by one individual or whether meaningful warning signs existed before the survivor ever entered the vehicle.

What Evidence Should Be Preserved After a Rideshare Sexual Assault?

Sexual assault cases are intensely personal, and survivors may need time before they are ready to consider a civil claim. Unfortunately, some forms of evidence may not wait.

The rideshare trip itself may produce records that you should identify and preserve. Other evidence may exist outside the rideshare platform and disappear much more quickly.

Potential evidence can include:

• Screenshots of the ride and driver information.
• Trip receipts and ride history.
• In-app messages.
• Text messages and phone records.
• GPS and route information.
• Reports made through the rideshare platform.
• Police reports.
• Medical records.
• Witness statements.
• Security-camera or doorbell-camera footage.
• Video from businesses near the route or location of the incident.
• Communications after the ride.

A survivor does not need to personally obtain every piece of evidence before contacting an attorney. Part of the legal investigation is identifying what may exist, determining who controls it, and taking steps to preserve it.

What Compensation May Be Available in a Georgia Rideshare Sexual Assault Claim?

The effects of sexual assault do not always fit neatly into a medical bill.

Some survivors suffer physical injuries requiring emergency or ongoing treatment. Others need counseling or psychological care. An assault may interfere with someone’s ability to work, travel, sleep, maintain relationships, or feel safe in once-routine situations.

Depending on the circumstances, a civil claim may seek compensation for losses such as:

• Medical expenses.
• Counseling and mental health treatment.
• Lost income.
• Physical injuries.
• Pain and suffering.
• Emotional and psychological harm.
• Other damages recognized under Georgia law.

The value and viability of any claim depend on the facts, the parties who may legally be held responsible, the available evidence, and the harm the survivor experienced.

We Also Focus on the Following Practice Areas:

• Auto Accident Death
• Child Accident Death
• DUI Accident Death
• Drowning Accident Death
• Fire Accident Death
• Motorcycle Accident Death
• Pedestrian Accident Death
• Truck Accident Death

Criminal Charges and Civil Claims Are Separate

Reporting a sexual assault to law enforcement can lead to a criminal investigation, but the criminal justice system and civil justice system serve different purposes.

A criminal prosecution focuses on whether the accused committed a crime and what punishment should follow. A civil case examines whether legally responsible parties should compensate the survivor for the harm caused.

The two proceedings may involve some of the same evidence, but one does not replace the other.

A civil attorney can also investigate potential responsibility beyond the individual accused of the assault, including whether evidence supports a claim involving a company or another party.

Talk With an Atlanta Rideshare Sexual Assault Attorney

Getting into a rideshare vehicle requires a passenger to trust both the driver and the system that connected them.

When that trust is exploited through sexual assault, determining what happened may require examining much more than the driver’s conduct alone.

Wrongful Death Krause Law Firm can investigate the trip, preserve evidence, review the driver’s history, and determine whether the facts support claims against other responsible parties. We handle these matters with the privacy, seriousness, and respect survivors deserve.

If you were sexually assaulted by a rideshare driver in Atlanta or elsewhere in Georgia, call 404-737-0010 or contact us online for a confidential consultation. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.