Two women from Massachusetts and South Carolina are suing Uber, accusing the ride-sharing service of neglect and fraud after they were allegedly sexually assaulted by Uber drivers in two separate incidents.
The unnamed women said Uber misled women by regularly marketing the company as a safe transportation option, then failing to appropriately screen its drivers, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in California.
The suit zeroes in on two incidents, including one in Boston, when an Uber driver allegedly attacked a woman. The second was reported in South Carolina. Representatives from Uber said the company worked with police in both states to help with the investigations.
It's not the first time drivers for the San Francisco-based company have been accused of misconduct.
A driver from California was arrested in June 2014 on suspicion of kidnapping a woman and bringing her from a nightclub to a motel room. Company officials said the driver was not logged into Uber's system and the ride was not arranged through Uber.
The next month, an Uber driver was arrested in Virginia after allegedly sexually assaulting a woman who had been drinking and passed out in his car. The driver was suspended, according to Uber.
Around the same time, a Philadelphia model accused of an Uber driver of punching her in the face during an argument over a traffic jam. Then, in September, a driver in San Francisco was accused of hitting a passenger with a hammer.
A driver from Boston was arrested on charges of rape, assault, kidnapping and battery last December after allegedly strangling and sexually assaulting a woman he had picked up in Cambridge. The district attorney's office said Uber was cooperative and helped police identify the driver.
As a result, the ride-sharing service implemented a new code of conduct detailing a "zero-tolerance policy" against "aggressive behavior," NBC News reported.
U.S. & World
Ari Mason contributed to this report.
