Rideshare apps promise convenience and safety. You tap a button, a car arrives, the app shows you who is driving and you get home. For passengers who are sexually assaulted during one of those rides, that promise collapses in an instant. The assault happens in a private vehicle with no other witnesses, often late at night, and many survivors fear it will come down to their word against the driver's. In reality, rideshare cases have something most assault cases lack: a detailed digital record held by the company that arranged the ride.
Pursuing a civil claim does not require a police report, an arrest or a conviction. The questions are about the company: what the platform knew, what it should have known and what it did.
The Platform Holds the Evidence
Because every trip is arranged through an app, the rideshare company holds the core evidentiary record. That includes the driver's identity, the route, the timing and any earlier complaints about that driver. The central question in most cases is what screening the platform performed, and what it did with prior reports about the same driver.
Who the Claim Is Against
These claims are usually brought against the platform, not only the individual driver. Negligent screening is the theory that most often carries them, though in practice several theories run together, and which one fits depends on your facts. Rideshare companies are private, so the Tort Immunity rules that govern claims against Illinois public bodies do not apply in the same way.
Illinois Sets Screening Rules
The Transportation Network Providers Act, 625 ILCS 57, regulates companies like Uber and Lyft, which the law calls transportation network companies. Under Section 15, before someone can drive on the platform, the company must collect an application with identifying information and driving and insurance details, run a local and national criminal background check that includes a multi-state search and the National Sex Offenders Registry, and review a driving history report.
Section 15 also bars certain people from driving, including anyone convicted within the past seven years of a sexual offense, an act of violence or driving under the influence, anyone who matches the National Sex Offenders Registry and anyone under 19. The app must show passengers the driver's photo and license plate before pickup and provide an electronic receipt afterward.
Chicago Goes Further
In Chicago, drivers also need a city chauffeur license, usually a transportation network chauffeur license issued by the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP), under Chapter 9-115 of the Municipal Code. The city requires drivers to be at least 21, disqualifies anyone ever required to register as a sex offender and requires companies to have drivers periodically re-verify their identity in the app. Section 32 of the state Act allows local rules like these as long as they are not less strict than the state's.
Records a Claim Usually Seeks
Typical requests include the trip's GPS trace, the driver's approval history and background check results, earlier rider complaints about the same driver and how the company responded, in-app messages and call logs and your own in-app report. Earlier complaints are often at the center of the case.
Holding Onto Your Copy of the Ride
After safety and medical care, the most useful thing a passenger can do is keep the app and the account intact. Deleting either can make it harder to prove which trip, which driver and which car were involved. Screenshots of the receipt, the driver's name and photo and the license plate as they appeared in the app, along with any messages, give you an independent copy of what the company holds. A lawyer can then send the company a formal request to preserve its own trip and driver records so nothing is lost while you decide what to do.
Timing matters too. How long you have to bring a claim depends on the facts, including how old you were and who the defendant is, so it is worth having a lawyer check the dates rather than guessing.
Questions Riders Ask
Will my name be public? Steps can be taken to protect your identity in the court record, and we explain them before anything is filed.
The driver wasn't an Uber or Lyft employee. A claim may still be possible. It usually turns on what the company itself did, such as screening and acting on complaints.
Do I have to report to police first? No. You can report in the app, to police, both or neither. A civil claim does not depend on which you chose.
Taking the First Step
Asking a question does not start anything.
- A person answers, not an automated system, and you need not describe what happened.
- We look into which company had a duty, what it knew, which records exist and whether a claim can still be brought, at no cost.
- We tell you plainly what is possible, and you decide. Stopping keeps everything confidential.
- If you go ahead, we handle filings, deadlines, records and the company's insurers, and we can seek protection for your identity.
Contact Ervin Nevitt
Ervin Nevitt, a partner at Coplan + Crane, has been admitted in Illinois since 2014. The firm answers (708) 671-6858 at every hour from 60 W Randolph St, Suite 333, Chicago, IL 60601. What you share stays with the firm.
If you need support right now, RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 is free and confidential, day and night. In an emergency, call 911. A hotline call does not affect any legal option.
Attorney advertising. General information only, not legal advice.
