Uber Faces Lawsuit Over Passenger Injuries in Construction Zone Crash in Philadelphia

Woman seeks damages from the rideshare company, after the Uber app allegedly directed the driver through a dangerous construction zone.

A Pennsylvania woman who suffered severe and permanent injuries in an Uber accident has filed a lawsuit against the popular ride sharing company, indicating that the app dangerously routed the driver through a construction site on I-76 East in Philadelphia, which resulted in the crash.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Ashley Yarbrough in the Court of Common Pleas for Delaware County, Pennsylvania on July 28, naming Uber Technologies Inc., Rasier LLC,  and an unnamed Uber Driver as the defendants.

Uber was originally founded in 2009 as “UberCab,” and launched to the public in San Francisco in 2011. Initially introduced as a luxury car service accessible through a smartphone app, Uber rideshare services quickly expanded throughout the U.S., as the company marketed itself as a safe means of transportation through the click of a button.

However, within a few years of its launch, the rideshare company became the target of numerous Uber sexual assault lawsuits, each raising allegations that the company failed to adequately screen its drivers or implement reasonable safety protocols, resulting in passengers being sexually harassed, assaulted, kidnapped or raped by individuals operating under the Uber platform. It has also faced a number of lawsuits alleging that the app was responsible for devastating Uber crashes, resulting in injuries for passengers.

In her lawsuit, Yarbrough states that on February 28, 2024, an Uber driver whose name she does not know, picked her up and traveled east on I-76 through Philadelphia.

As a result of navigation and travel instructions allegedly provided by the Uber app, the lawsuit claims the driver wound up venturing through a construction site, which resulted in a collision that caused Yarbrough severe and permanent injuries.

Included among those injuries were debilitating trauma to Yarbrough’s neck, back, shoulders, chest, head, knees, body and other extremities, according to the complaint.

Yarbrough also contends that she may have to undergo further medical attention as a direct result of the accident, which she claims occurred due to the company and driver’s alleged negligence in choosing a route.

“On the aforesaid date, time and location, due to the negligence and carelessness of the Defendant, John Doe Uber Driver, the Defendants, suddenly, and without warning, caused the motor vehicle where Plaintiff was a passenger in to drive through a construction area, causing the Plaintiff to sustain severe and permanent personal injuries and other damages as more fully set forth herein.”

–Ashley Yarbrough v. Uber Technologies Inc.

Yarbrough raises allegations of negligence against all defendants, with additional claims of negligent entrustment and respondeat superior against Uber and Rasier. Rasier LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Uber Technologies.

The lawsuit is seeking up to $50,000 in compensatory damages. As a result, the case has been marked for arbitration (PDF) in Pennsylvania State Court on April 24, 2026.

Uber Sexual Assault Lawsuits

In addition to issues like the ones raised by Yargbrough, Uber also faces more than 2,000 sexual assault lawsuits, which have been consolidated as part of an Uber driver sexual assault MDL in the Northern District of California, where U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer has been presiding over coordinated discovery and preparing a small group of representative claims for early trial dates. 

These “bellwether” trials are designed to help gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout the lawsuits. In May, Judge Breyer selected six Uber driver assault lawsuits for the first wave of bellwether trials, which are expected to get underway on December 8, 2025.

While the outcomes of these bellwether trials will not have any binding effect on other claims in the MDL, they will be closely watched by parties involved in the litigation and the average lawsuit payouts awarded by juries may have a substantial impact on any Uber sexual assault settlement negotiations, which will be necessary to avoid hundreds of individual cases being remanded back to U.S. District Courts nationwide for future trial dates.

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