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An Uber driver says her passengers beat her during a ride in Van Nuys last month, and while she is still suffering, Uber has done nothing to help her.
Rosie Dehghani, who had been an Uber driver for seven months, gave KTLA a tearful interview about the attack that happened on March 4. She said she picked up four passengers—two men and two women—around 1 a.m. Tensions were high in the car as a couple was fighting and another woman was visibly drunk. When she dropped them off at the 7300 block of Haskell Ave., that's when things reportedly got violent.
She said that the two women began to beat her head, neck and shoulder with their fists and cell phones. They pulled her hair and dragged her out of the car.
Dehghani said she was being treated for head and spinal injuries sustained by the attack, but since she can't afford the bills, her treatment has stopped. There's also the anxiety she's faced in the aftermath: she said every night she has nightmares about "just running away from them."
After asking Uber for help, the company reportedly told Dehghani that while they have have insurance that covers passengers, they don't have insurance that cover drivers.
She said she paid nearly $1 per ride for Uber insurance, which has amounted to more than $2,800. On Uber's blog, it says that if a driver's personal auto insurance doesn't cover collision coverage, then Uber's commercial insurance plan will kick in. And even with the commercial insurance, it covers third-party liability, uninsured driver injury coverage and contingent damage to the driver's car. Though, it doesn't say anything about what happens when no crash actually occurs and there's been an attack on the driver.
LAist sent Uber a request for comment, but hasn't heard back at this time. KTLA reported that police have requested a subpoena with the Uber passenger who requested a ride that night so they can get the names of the female passengers.
UPDATE 1:35 p.m.: Uber spokesperson, Eva Behrend, sent a statement to LAist: "Our heart goes out to Ms. Delghani; we treat allegations involving the safety and security of our valued driver-partners very seriously. The rider involved no longer has access to the Uber platform and we have reached out to law enforcement to offer our assistance."
