Lyft Passenger Lawsuit Alleges Rideshare Company Never Responded to Sexual Assault Claim

Lawsuit claims the driver continued to search for the victim for over 30 minutes after she was able to fight her way free from the sexual assault.

A new lawsuit from a Colorado woman alleges that Lyft’s lack of passenger safety considerations resulted in her being sexually assaulted by one of the rideshare service’s drivers in August 2024.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by a plaintiff identified only as L.D. to protect her anonymity. It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on April 27, naming Lyft Inc. as the defendant.

In recent years, multiple passengers like L.D. indicate Lyft has refused to conduct meaningful and effective background checks on its drivers, place surveillance cameras in vehicles, allow passengers to choose the gender of their driver, or put its drivers through sexual harassment training.

As a result, the rideshare service faces a growing number of Lyft passenger sexual assault lawsuits, each containing similar claims that the company abandoned its duty to protect passengers in favor of profits. This has allegedly allowed a service-wide culture to flourish, which has resulted in passengers, almost all women, being sexually harassed, groped, assaulted, kidnapped and even raped.

Lyft Sexual Assault Allegations

According to L.D.’s complaint, she ordered a Lyft ride through the company’s app in August 2024 because her own car was out of commission. However, once the driver arrived and she got in the vehicle, L.D. indicates he began asking her very personal questions.

Later in the ride, the driver pulled the vehicle over, claiming he needed to get something out of the trunk. Instead, he entered the back of the vehicle with the passenger, threw her phone out of the car, and began trying to force her to perform oral sex on him.

The lawsuit indicates L.D. kicked the driver in the genital area, allowing her to escape the attack and flee. She states that the driver hunted her for some time as she hid until he gave up. L.D. then retrieved her phone and reported the incident to Lyft, which she says never responded. The complaint notes that her story is similar to those of many other passengers of the rideshare service, which has refused to address the problem.

“Lyft’s response to this sexual predator crisis amongst Lyft drivers has been appallingly inadequate. Lyft continues to hire drivers without performing adequate background checks. Lyft continues to allow culpable drivers to keep driving for Lyft. And, perhaps most importantly, Lyft has failed to adopt and implement reasonable driver monitoring procedures designed to ensure the safety of its passengers.”

– L.D. v. Lyft Inc.

L.D. presents claims of general negligence, negligent hiring, retention and supervision, common carrier negligence, negligent failure to warn, intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, negligent infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract, strict product liability – design, and strict product liability – failure to warn.

She seeks damages for physical pain, mental anguish, anxiety, medical expenses, and lost earnings or earning capacity.

Rideshare Service Sexual Assault Lawsuits

The complaint will be consolidated with other federal claims as part of a Lyft passenger sexual assault lawsuit MDL, or multidistrict litigation, centralized in the Northern District of California before U.S. District Judge Rita Lin for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings. Eventually, Judge Lin is expected to organize a series of bellwether trials for the MDL, which will help the parties understand how juries respond to evidence and arguments that may be similar throughout the litigation.

Lyft currently faces about 30 sexual assault lawsuits. However, another 3,300 federal Uber sexual assault lawsuits have been filed against its competitor and consolidated in the same district under a different judge, who is already leading the claims through a series of bellwether trials.

The first federal bellwether trial resulted in an $8.5 million verdict for Jaylynn Dean earlier this year. Dean indicated she was sexually assaulted by an Uber driver in 2023. Despite determining Uber was not negligent in the handling of its safety features, the Arizona federal jury still determined that the rideshare service was responsible for the attack, since the driver was an acting agent of the company.

A prior Uber sexual assault trial was held by the state of California in September 2025, ending in a verdict where jurors determined the company did not do enough to protect riders, yet ultimately declined to hold Uber legally responsible or award damages.

While the outcomes of these bellwether trials will not directly affect other claims, they are being closely watched as a potential guide to settlement negotiations. However, if no settlement or other resolution is reached, the individual lawsuits would likely be remanded to their federal district of origin for individual trial dates.

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