Uber, a taxi service that offers customers access to drivers via mobile phone, settled a lawsuit from a child’s death that occurred because of one of their drivers in San Francisco. One of the company’s driver’s hit a six-year-old girl who was walking through a crosswalk. They formed an agreement with the plaintiff, which was the child’s family.
Uber gave the family an undisclosed amount of money for the girl’s death. This results in the company being able to avoid a trial in regards to the responsibility Uber has on its drivers. Papers filed with the Superior Court requested that the settlement be kept classified. They don’t want the family to be subject to financial abuse due to the sum.
On New Year’s Eve 2013, Anthony Liu (five years old) and Sofia (six years old) were crossing with their mother, Huan Hua Kuang. A driver of an SUV from Uber didn’t yield, and the family was just crossing Polk Street near the Civic Center. In addition to the vehicular manslaughter, the mother was also injured. She was hospitalized for several weeks. She even had to undergo eye surgery.
The driver of the SUV was 57-year-old, Union City Resident, Syed Muzzafar. He’s a contractor who no longer has the privilege to drive for Uber. His court date concerning the misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter is set for August 5th, as noted by his attorney John Hamasaki.
At the time of the accident, he was logged onto the company’s app, which goes by the name of the UberX app. He was waiting to receive a ride request at the time. When the incident occurred, he wasn’t providing services since he didn’t 
have any passengers in his vehicle at the time. The family’s attorneys disputed Uber not being responsible. They stated that Muzzafar’s conduct may have branched from dealing with the company’s phone-based interface. The company didn’t have insurance that covered the driver and the damage done.
The mother of Sofia stated that the death of her daughter forever changed their family and that they just want to move forward privately from this point on. Uber’s statement stated that their hearts go out to the Luis, and they hope the settlement will aid in them moving forward.
