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Tennessee Conservative News Staff –
A Nashville mother is pushing for lawmakers to eliminate a proposed amendment that is included in the Build America 250 Act that she says will make it more difficult for rideshare companies to be held accountable when people are harmed during rides.
Jeanne Fain says her 27-year-old daughter, who has a cognitive disability, was sexually assaulted during what should have been a five-minute Uber ride to her Nashville home. Instead of taking her safely to her destination, the Uber driver allegedly took her to a different location where he sexually assaulted her.
Fain says the family had spent years trying to help their daughter function more independently and that the incident set her back significantly.
“It’s impacted her greatly. It’s impacted her independence. It has impacted her feeling secure,” Fain said. “This just sets everything back.”
She is urging Congress to refuse to support the Fong Amendment of the Build America 250 Act. The amendment would create federal liability standards for rideshare companies such as Uber. Fain says these standards would limit passenger claims against the companies for things such as assault or theft.
Those in favor of the amendment say it would help to curb frivolous lawsuits against companies while still allowing for claims of company negligence, but Fain argues that it will give them room to avoid responsibility instead.
Proponents also argue that the standards are necessary to help keep transportation costs down by allowing companies to avoid the costs of false lawsuits.
“Americans are already facing various affordability challenges, and this amendment helps to make sure that the threat of frivolous lawsuits doesn’t needlessly contribute to higher transportation costs,” said House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. Sam Graves (R-Missouri).
Fain said she has already contacted Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), asking her not to support the amendment if it makes its way to the Senate.
Uber did not issue a statement about the legislation but did release the following:
“Sexual assault is a horrific crime, and we take every report of this nature very seriously. While we cannot comment on pending litigation, we are deeply committed to the safety of all users on the Uber platform.”
