Couple injured in Uber accident unable to sue due to daughter accepting Uber Eats terms
A couple who were severely injured in a car crash while using Uber were informed that they cannot file a lawsuit against the company because they had previously agreed to terms for Uber Eats.
Georgia and John McGinty, residents of New Jersey, attempted to sue the taxi service company in a complaint on February 23, 2023, after an Uber driver caused an accident by running a red light and hitting another vehicle, as stated in court documents.
Mrs. McGinty underwent “numerous surgeries” for cervical and spine fractures, a protruding hernia, and pelvic floor injuries sustained during the crash on March 31, 2022. Her husband suffered a fractured sternum and limited use of his left wrist.
However, the Superior Court of New Jersey upheld the terms they had agreed to on January 8, 2022, which the couple claims was approved by their daughter while ordering food, deeming them “valid”.
The court highlighted a portion of the terms, which stipulates that any incidents or accidents resulting in personal injury during the use of services will be resolved through individual arbitration with Uber, not in a court of law.
Arbitration allows parties to resolve disputes outside of court with the help of a neutral arbitrator who makes a binding decision after reviewing arguments.
Mr. and Mrs. McGinty may choose to appeal the decision to the state’s Supreme Court, according to their attorneys as reported by Law & Crime, a US news publication.
In a statement to the same website, the couple expressed their dismay at the court’s decision, stating that it allows a corporation like Uber to evade legal action by injured consumers due to contractual language hidden in a lengthy user agreement unrelated to the service that caused the injuries.
They added that the complex user agreement presented during a food delivery order on an iPhone screen made it impossible for anyone to understand the rights they were potentially waiving or the consequences of such actions.
Law & Crime reported that Uber stated the court found that the plaintiff herself, not her teenage daughter, agreed to Uber’s Terms of Use, including the arbitration agreement, on multiple occasions.
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This case is reminiscent of Disney’s recent attempt to dismiss a wrongful death claim because the accuser had signed up for a one-month trial of Disney’s streaming service Disney+.
Disney stated that the subscriber agreement’s first page indicated that any disputes must be resolved through individual binding arbitration and not class action.
Uber has been contacted for comment.
