What is the secret of Uber’s success? According to Forbes’ Daniel Fisher, the company attained its $60 billion market value “by disregarding just about every law, regulation and entrenched special interest standing in its way.”
In the beginning, everyone thought Uber was the best idea ever. People could make money in their free time, unemployed car owners could get an instant job, and users could ride in nice cars with background-checked drivers, and pay less than what it costs to take a cab. It all seemed to run smoothly.
Ugly Side of Uber Driving – Crippling Accident – Uncaring Uber
But things haven’t run so smoothly for Lorri Trosper, an Uber driver from Ogle County, Illinois, who is the initial plaintiff in a national Class Action lawsuit filed on behalf of all drivers against Uber, by high profile attorney Brian Mahany.
Lorri Trosper was an Uber driver and all was well with the world until she was involved in a horrific auto accident right after picking up a fare.
Trosper told Whistleblower News Review that she was rear-ended by an uninsured motorist “with warrants out for his arrest for drugs and murder.” She was severely injured in the accident and has been in constant pain for 15 months as a result. When she went to Uber for help, the multi-billion dollar company offered none. She is scheduled for spinal surgery on May 10th.
Trosper claims she was often logging 70 hours a week driving for Uber. If she had been recognized as an employee, she would have been insured and covered for the accident, medical expenses, and the time she has been unable to earn a living as a result of the injuries.
Uber CEO Kalanick’s Uber Wealth While Drivers Uber Victims
Trosper’s attorney was closely following the developments of the lawsuits against Uber in Massachusetts and California. In Mahany’s view, Uber’s settlement in the two states was “like sticking your finger in a dam when there’s water pouring out all over the place.” Mahany achieved national fame in 2014 when he engineered a multi-billion dollar settlement against Bank of America over fraudulent mortgages.
As many lawyers around the country may be trying to craft Uber lawsuits in order to thicken their pockets, Trosper and Mahany may be the perfect advocates for Uber drivers, because she has gone through what each one of them must pray won’t happen to them every time they drive off to pick up an Uber fare.
Her disabled body is a testimony to what Uber is doing wrong. Meanwhile, the company’s CEO, Travis Kalanick (worth $6.2 Billion), keeps climbing the ladder of the world’s largest fortunes list.
“Every person who drives for Uber is entitled to protection and entitled to the tips that people think they are giving them,” Trosper commented, “their business model robbed me of everything.”
National Lawsuit: Uber Shackles Drivers but Ducks Responsibility w/Independent Contractor Argument
The Class Action complaint filed in the Northern District Court of Illinois names both Uber Technologies and CEO Kalanick as the defendants, and describes the “Plaintiff Class” as “current and former employees of Defendants who worked as drivers and were and are misclassified by Defendants as independent contractors, denied overtime pay, otherwise denied pay, not reimbursed for their business expenses and had their gratuities stolen and diminished.”
“I don't see how they can justify not classifying us as employees, they tell you what to do, what to have in your car, where to sit and wait for a fare, what kind of car to drive, what kind of insurance to have,” Trosper told Whistleblower News Review.
Former and current drivers from all over the US, except Massachusetts and California, are expected to join in massively the ranks of the plaintiffs in Mahany’s Trosper lawsuit. It would seem that this will be the only way drivers might ever see the tips they never received or any piece of the action that is making Uber a little more uber-rich every day.
As she prepares for her difficult surgery, Trosper laments her time working for Uber, “It was a waste of my time, effort, money and quality of life.” Driver lawsuit information at: UberLawsuitInfo.com