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Uber Can Legally Leave You Crippled and Broke Warning

If your Uber driver violates the law by running a red light, resulting in a crash, you might be legally prevented from taking them to court for this one reason most passengers agree to on their app.
UBER Requires Riders Give Up Their Rights

In a society as litigious as the U.S., even the most law-abiding citizens can easily fall prey to our justice system. However, not so much as being sued by someone for one of the many oddities we often hear about in the news, but also the lengths businesses will go to ensure that they are protected―especially when they are in the wrong…but still protected by law.

In fact, turning your keys over to a parking valet service, car wash and detailing service, or even handing your keys to a bartender to avoid driving drunk can set you up for legal problems down the road.

For example:

One of the craziest stories we've passed on was one about a Jeep owner leaving his vehicle behind at a service center for an oil change. As it turns out, the service tech working on the Jeep was a 19-year-old without a driver's license and no clue how to operate a vehicle with a stick shift. During the oil change, the service tech got behind the wheel, and his foot slipped off the clutch, resulting in the Jeep lurching forward and fatally crushing another tech standing in front of the vehicle. The kicker is that the only person being held culpable is the owner of the Jeep!

For more information about this story, click on the title "Oil Change Customer Sued for Death in Car Service Center Incident."

Uber Has a Service Agreement Clause You Need to Know About

More recently, a new story is circulating about how a couple hired an Uber driver for a ride home after having dinner at a restaurant. Unfortunately, on the way home, the driver of the Uber ran a red light, resulting in a car crash that left the couple seriously injured with broken bones and internal injuries.

To make matters worse, it turns out that the couple was under an arbitration provision that prevented them from taking Uber to court for a trial with a judge and jury. Within the Uber app agreement, an arbitration provision waives your rights to a trial by jury when you become an accident victim in an Uber-caused car accident.

The foundation of the problem is that like many businesses that use hidden clauses in their terms of service agreement (which they know nobody reads in reality), Uber has the same "protection" with what is legally a binding contract limiting Uber riders' rights. In other words, the law can and will bite you in the gluteus maximus for clicking "I accept" in agreements that should not possess such clauses.

Here's a TODAY show episode of the couple and their story for more about what happened:

Why this couple is blocked from suing Uber after serious car crash

 

What is an Arbitration Agreement?

An arbitration agreement buried within one of the many terms of service agreements you click "I accept" on without reading is a legal clause that requires parties to resolve disputes through arbitration rather than going to court. An arbitrator is chosen to listen to both sides and then make a final, binding decision with limited rights to either party's appeal(s).

While arbitration agreements have their plus side to them by saving money and time and lessening the strain on an over-burdened court system, some businesses take advantage of these types of agreements by adding on conditions that they know will work in their favor should anything happen to their customers. Conditions include the business choosing the arbitrator and the date and time of arbitration, among other things.

For more about the legal ramifications of these types of agreements, here is a recent episode on Steve Lehto YouTube channel that discusses his take on the unfairness of arbitration agreements.

They Can't Sue Uber for Accident Injuries Because of App's Terms of Service

 

For additional articles related to cars and the law, here are a few for your consideration:

Timothy Boyer is an automotive reporter based in Cincinnati. Experienced with early car restorations, he regularly restores older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWritesfor daily news and topics related to new and used cars and trucks.

Image source: Deposit Photos

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