The woman who was raped by her Uber driver in Delhi in December 2014 has now sued the global ride-hailing giant claiming that company officials wrongfully obtained her medical records after the rape, reports Reuters from court documents. Recode reports that she has accused the company of intrusion of privacy and defamation.
The lawsuit was filed at a California federal court and comes days after Recode first reported that company executive Eric Alexander obtained her medical records and carried the file around for many months, showing it to a several executives including former SVP Emil Michael and CEO Travis Kalanick. The suit names Alaexander, Michael and Kalanick.
"Uber executives duplicitously and publicly decried the rape, expressing sympathy for plaintiff, and shock and regret at the violent attack, while privately speculating, as outlandish as it is, that she had colluded with a rival company to harm Uber’s business," the lawsuit said according to Reuters.
Following several allegations of sexism in the company, Kalanick is now on a leave of absence from the company.
“It is shocking that Travis Kalanick could publicly say that Uber would do everything to support our client and her family in her recovery when he and other executives were reviewing illegally obtained medical records and engaging in offensive and spurious conspiracy theories about the brutal rape she so tragically suffered,” the survior’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, said in a statement according to Recode. “Rape denial is just another form of the toxic gender discrimination that is endemic at Uber and ingrained in its culture. Hopefully, this lawsuit coupled with the changes recommended by the independent counsel will create real change and reform at Uber and elsewhere.”
The woman, who is now a resident of the US, is suing the company for an unspecified amount.
While the driver was sentenced to life in prison by court in 2015, the survivor settled a lawsuit filed against the company.
You can read the full complaint here:
Uber Complaint (1) by Johana Bhuiyan on Scribd