The couple decided to sue Uber after a driver "ran a red light and crashed into a vehicle", causing serious injuries to them. But he was stopped because his daughter had signed the Uber Eats terms and conditions months earlier.
A couple who suffered injuries considered serious in a car accident driven by an Uber driver, in the United States, on March 31, 2022, were informed that they could not press charges against the company... because their daughter had agreed to the terms and conditions of Uber Eats.
According to Sky News, citing court documents, Georgia and John McGinty, residents of New Jersey, attempted to sue the ride-hailing platform in a complaint filed on February 23, 2023, after a driver "ran a red light and crashed into a vehicle."
Following the accident, the woman underwent "numerous surgeries" after suffering cervical and spinal fractures, a protruding hernia and pelvic floor injuries, while her husband suffered a fractured sternum and injuries to his left wrist.
However, months before the accident, on January 8, 2022, the couple's daughter signed the terms and conditions of Uber Eats - a food delivery platform owned by Uber - which the New Jersey Superior Court says are "valid" .
At issue is a clause in the terms and conditions that states: "Incidents or accidents resulting in personal injury to you or any other person that you allege occurred in connection with your use of the Services (...) will be resolved by individual arbitration binding between you and Uber, not in a court of law."
"We consider that the arbitration clause contained in the agreement under analysis, to which Georgia or her minor daughter, when using her cell phone, agreed, is valid and applicable", argued the Supreme Court.
The couple said they were "horrified by what the court's ruling suggests" as they asserted that "a large company like Uber can avoid being sued in court by aggrieved consumers because of contractual language buried in a user agreement for dozens of pages relating to services unrelated to the one that caused the consumers' injuries."
"Here, the content, format and presentation - dozens of pages on an iPhone screen during a food delivery order - make it impossible for anyone to understand what rights they potentially waive or how drastic the consequences could be," the couple complained to the North American website Law & Order.
The ruling is reminiscent of the recent case of a man who filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Disney and restaurant owners after his wife died in 2023 from a severe allergic reaction following a meal at Disney World in Florida, also in the United States. United States.
However, it was blocked because Disney claimed the case should be dismissed and settled out of court because the man agreed to the company's terms of use - which state that users agree to resolve any disputes with the company out of court through of arbitration — when he signed up for a one-month free trial of Disney+ in 2019, and again in 2023 when he purchased Disney theme park tickets using his Disney account. Faced with criticism, the company backtracked and decided to withdraw the allegations.
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