Uber Ordered to Pay $400 Million for Dumping Drunk Passenger on Highway
Bastillepost · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago1 MIN
Summary
An arbitrator has ordered Uber to pay $40 million in damages to the parents of Emily Normandin-Parker, a 23-year-old University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) graduate who was struck and killed after being forced out of an Uber on a California highway in August 2023. The arbitrator found that driver Vu Tran prioritized his new car over passenger safety by abandoning the intoxicated women on a high-speed road rather than exiting at the next ramp .
Key Points
- Emily Normandin-Parker, 23, graduated from UCLA and was a responsible passenger who chose not to drive after drinking when she called Uber on August 12, 2023
- Driver Vu Tran forced both women to exit his vehicle on a California highway after one passenger vomited in the car
- The arbitrator, retired Judge Richard Stone, ruled that Tran was more concerned about his new car than passenger safety and could have exited at a ramp
- Uber argued that Tran was an independent contractor and the company should not be liable for his actions
- Uber had previously offered a $10 million settlement with a non-disclosure agreement, which the family rejected
Why It Matters
This ruling underscores the legal vulnerability of ride-hailing platforms when drivers make dangerous decisions that deviate from passenger safety protocols, and may set a precedent for how companies define responsibility for contractor behavior in similar cases .
This ruling underscores the legal vulnerability of ride-hailing platforms when drivers make dangerous decisions that deviate from passenger safety protocols, and may set a precedent for how companies define responsibility for contractor behavior in similar cases .