Is Lyft Liable for Wrongful Death?
As an experienced Los Angeles personal injury attorney, I read up on and research developing areas of personal injury law every week.A sad issue that is coming up more frequently with the explosive growth of Uber and Lyft is whether these companies can be liable for wrongful death. The question is most-recently associated with the very unfortunate case of Justin Lavelle.Justin was a young man from West Hollywood who was killed when his Lyft driver, Tariq Rasheed, ejected him from his car on the 110 Freeway in Downtown Los Angeles. The circumstances are disputed. Rasheed is alleged to have pepper sprayed Justin prior to ejecting him from the car. Justin exited the car on the shoulder, and was killed when he was struck by a passing car.Is Lyft liable for the negligence of its driver, Tariq Rasheed? The answer to this question could lie in the 2001 California Supreme Court case of Ingham v. Luxor Cab Company (93 Cal.App.4th 1045). Here are the facts.Mary Ingham was a diabetic who had a myriad of health issues. She did not own a car, and often used the bus to get to her numerous medical appointments. When she needed to get to her dentist's office on one particular day, she took a taxi operated by Luxor Cab Company because the bus stop was too far from the dentist's office and Mary had mobility issues.Unfortunately, Mary's taxi driver was not very friendly. He got lost on his way to transporting Mary to her appointment; got frustrated, and pulled the car over. He told Mary he was ending her ride there, and not at her intended destination. She cried and begged him to take her to the dentist's office, which is what she paid for, but the driver refused. Mary got out of the car, tried walking, and collapsed and got hurt. She sued Luxor Cab for negligence.In deciding whether Luxor was liable for Mary's injuries. the Court noted that taxicabs are common carriers. California Civil Code Section 2100 specifies that a "carrier of persons for reward must use the utmost care and diligence for their safe carriage, must provide everything necessary for that purpose, and must exercise to that end a reasonable degree of skill." A common carrier that ejects a passenger at a place other than the designated destination and in doing so subjects the passenger to reasonably foreseeable injury, violates a common carrier's affirmative duty to prevent harm to its passengers.Taxis, the Court noted, have an even-greater common carrier duty than buses or trains. This is because taxis are paid to deliver the passenger to specific destinations--as opposed to trains or buses that transport passengers to pre-determined stops. The Court concluded in the Ingham case that Luxor Cab owed an affirmative duty of care to Mary Ingham, and it breached that duty when its driver ejected Mary and subjected her to foreseeable injury.The facts of the Ingham case seem to mirror the case of Justin Lavelle. Justin was ejected from his Lyft ride at a destination other than the one he contracted with Lyft. He was left on the shoulder of one of Southern California's busiest freeways, after being pepper sprayed, which certainly can impair one's vision. Were Tariq Rasheed's actions reasonably foreseeable to cause Justin Lavelle to tragically lose his life?I say yes. We'll have to wait and see what the Court says.For questions about your Lyft, Uber, or other Los Angeles car accident case, the Rabbi Lawyer is ready to assist, 24/6.
