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Uber ordered to pay $1.1M to blind woman refused rides

bbc.com

41–50 of 502 posts

Re: Uber ordered to pay $1.1M to blind woman refused rides

#41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does this work for workers with dog allergies?

Service dogs are bred to be hypoallergenic.

Not necessarily.

https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html

Q22. Can service animals be any breed of dog?

A. Yes. The ADA does not restrict the type of dog breeds that can be service animals.

Re: Uber ordered to pay $1.1M to blind woman refused rides

#42

> "The bottom line is that under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a guide dog should be able to go anywhere that a blind person can go." Okay, I completely get this, but question -- what about business owners and drivers who are traumatized by dogs? If I were a driver, I'd be much more likely to crash the car if there was a dog in the car of any kind. I've had traumatic experiences with dogs and being near one se…

Then it’s time to get into a different kind of business, really.

Re: Uber ordered to pay $1.1M to blind woman refused rides

#43

> "The bottom line is that under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a guide dog should be able to go anywhere that a blind person can go." Okay, I completely get this, but question -- what about business owners and drivers who are traumatized by dogs? If I were a driver, I'd be much more likely to crash the car if there was a dog in the car of any kind. I've had traumatic experiences with dogs and being near one se…

Then don't drive Uber. Most businesses legally must allow service dogs.

Re: Uber ordered to pay $1.1M to blind woman refused rides

#44

She didn't get $1.1m, the settlement was $324,000 in damages plus legal expenses of $805,313. That kind of changes the narrative in my opinion.

Maybe, but I’m glad lawyers took her case, helped her win, and then got paid for it. Ruling itself may extend to future rides and help the blind community.

Re: Uber ordered to pay $1.1M to blind woman refused rides

#46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, makes no sense that anyone can register their pet as emotional support.

The ADA does not require any registration of any service animal. Everyone is expected to accept the service animal’s owner claim that the service animal is a service animal without proof.

[deleted]

Re: Uber ordered to pay $1.1M to blind woman refused rides

#47
post #15

I think anyone who has taken Uber and Lyft a lot knows that they allow drivers to abuse the system for their benefit, with no recourse for riders. A few incidents that have bothered me: 1. Having an Uber refuse to take me to the airport from downtown Chicago 2. Lyft not giving me an automatic refund for a pickup in SOMA when the driver had been heading down 101 for 10 minutes and was showing no signs of turning aroun…

I was a victim of "vomit fraud" where the driver sends in fake photos from an identical model vehicle of interior damage and pockets the money. I now take photos of the interior of the car before and after.

Uber charged me for the "damage" same-day and reversed the charges two days later after I sent them article after article on the issue and pointed out it was a Sunday noon drive not a late night Friday escapade.

What's worse is that good drivers who do have their vehicles damaged now likely have to go through more hoops to get reimbursed.

Re: Uber ordered to pay $1.1M to blind woman refused rides

#48
post #8

This pales in comparison to some of the stories I've heard from women regarding the sexually aggressive and harassing behavior they've experienced from (always male) Uber drivers, often on the way home late at night (where the driver gets to see their home address). This isn't apparently a firing offense at Uber.

The fact that others have worse problems does not negate the illegal treatment of a blind woman.

There is a terrible tendency to brush of problems by pointing other issues.

Re: Uber ordered to pay $1.1M to blind woman refused rides

#49

She didn't get $1.1m, the settlement was $324,000 in damages plus legal expenses of $805,313. That kind of changes the narrative in my opinion.

that definitely changes the narrative. 800k in legal expenses! That's a lot of money. The headline should be "lawyers make 800k by suing uber". How was the damage calculated by the way?

Re: Uber ordered to pay $1.1M to blind woman refused rides

#50
The real problem here is Uber/Lyft not accounting for this in their app. As someone who takes rideshare with a small child who needs a car seat, I've had similar issues.

A person with a dog will need extra time getting in and out, and the driver will need extra time to clean the car and remove any dog hair or other stains or spots. A person with a carseat like myself needs extra time to get into and out of the car while I strap in the carseat. I'm really good at it, but it still takes an extra minute or so to strap in the seat and then strap the child into the seat.

The apps need a way for me to say "I have a carseat" or "I have a service animal" and then give a bonus to the driver for picking me up. Incentivize the driver to want to come get me, and compensate them for the extra time. I'd gladly pay and extra "carseat fee" so that I don't get an unhappy driver who gives me one star just because they had to wait for me.

And in the case of the service animal, they shouldn't have the option to reject the ride and the rider should not get charged extra, but Uber/Lyft should have to compensate the driver for taking that ride as a cost the rideshare companies bear under the ADA.

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