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Confidential legal representation for survivors of sexual assault by an Uber or Lyft driver in Portland or anywhere in Oregon. As of June 26, 2025, Oregon eliminated the time limit on adult sexual assault civil claims arising on or after that date (ORS 12.118, as amended by HB 3582). A federal multidistrict litigation against Uber is also active, with thousands of survivor cases consolidated under U.S. District Court, N.D. California (MDL 3084).
Free, confidential consultation. Available 24/7. Pay nothing unless we win.
Call (971) 803-4962The Scale of Rideshare Sexual Assault Is Not a Secret Anymore
For years, Uber and Lyft kept the scope of driver-on-passenger sexual misconduct buried in arbitration, NDAs, and internal records. Their own safety transparency reports now confirm what survivors have been saying since the platforms launched (Uber US Safety Report; Lyft Safety Transparency Report). Sexual misconduct, including sexual assault and rape, has been a recurring feature of both platforms, not an outlier.
At Goldberg & Loren, our Portland rideshare sexual assault attorneys represent survivors of assault by Uber and Lyft drivers. We pursue the platform directly for negligent hiring, inadequate background checks, and failure to act on prior complaints. We also pursue the driver personally where appropriate.
3,000+Cases pending in the federal Uber MDL (May 2026) MDL 3084, N.D. Cal.$8.5MFirst Uber sexual-assault bellwether verdict Bellwether verdict, Feb. 2026June 26, 2025Oregon HB 3582 effective date: no time limit on new adult claims Oregon Legislature5 yearsPrior Oregon discovery-rule SOL (still controls older claims) ORS 12.118 (prior law) NEW OREGON LAWHB 3582: No Time Limit on Adult Sexual Assault Claims (Effective June 26, 2025)
Oregon’s legislature amended ORS 12.118 in 2025. For adult sexual assault civil claims that arise on or after June 26, 2025, there is no statute of limitations. The bill also removed a prior requirement that an institutional defendant had to have “knowingly” allowed abuse, making it easier to hold rideshare companies accountable for negligent driver-screening and complaint-handling.
For assaults that occurred before June 26, 2025, the prior five-year discovery rule may still apply. The amendments are not retroactive, so claims that already expired under the old SOL are not revived. Whether your case is timely depends on when the assault occurred and when you connected it to a resulting injury. A free consultation will tell you which rule controls your case.
Goldberg & Loren Fights for Maximum Compensation
Pay Nothing, Unless We Win
Two Paths for Survivors: Federal MDL vs. Oregon State Court
Most rideshare sexual assault cases against Uber now move through one of two tracks. They are not mutually exclusive, but the right path depends on when the assault happened, where you live, and what the platform did.
Path 1: Federal MDL 3084In re: Uber Technologies, Inc., Passenger Sexual Assault Litigation
Centralized in the Northern District of California before Judge Charles Breyer (Case No. 3:23-md-03084-CRB).
- Thousands of survivor cases consolidated for pretrial discovery
- First bellwether trial concluded February 2026
- First bellwether: $8.5 million plaintiff verdict
- Court-appointed settlement special master facilitating ongoing negotiations
- Cases against Uber typically transferred into the MDL after filing
Multnomah County / Federal District of Oregon
Independent civil suit under Oregon law.
- Often the right option for Lyft cases (no equivalent MDL)
- HB 3582 applies for assaults on or after June 26, 2025
- Prior 5-year discovery rule for older assaults
- Punitive damages available for institutional cover-up
- Pseudonymous (Jane Doe / John Doe) filing may be permitted on a case-by-case basis
What Counts as Rideshare Sexual Assault
You do not need to have been raped for a case to exist. Uber and Lyft’s own taxonomy of sexual misconduct includes a wide range of conduct that violates the platform’s terms and Oregon’s criminal and civil law:
- Sexual assault or rape during or immediately after a ride
- Non-consensual touching of breasts, buttocks, genitals, or thighs
- Unwanted kissing of a sexual body part
- Sexual comments, propositions, or solicitations during the ride
- The driver showing pornography, sexual images, or his own body
- Sedating, drugging, or incapacitating a passenger
- Locking doors, deviating from the route, or refusing to drop a passenger off
- Stalking, texting, or following a passenger after the ride ended
- Driver-on-driver or passenger-on-driver assault
Common Warning Signs & Red Flags
- The vehicle, license plate, or driver photo did not match the app
- The driver locked the doors, took an unexplained route, or refused to follow GPS
- The driver asked overly personal questions, especially about where you live or whether anyone was waiting
- The driver offered food, drinks, or anything ingestible during the ride
- Other passengers warned you, or you saw warnings on Reddit or social media about the same driver
- The platform’s post-ride safety check showed an irregular trip pattern
If You Were Just Assaulted
Call 911 first. Request a SANE (sexual assault nurse examiner) exam. Any Portland-area emergency room can arrange one, including Legacy Emanuel’s 24/7 adult SANE program, and the exam is free to Oregon survivors who request it within seven days of an assault (Multnomah County sexual violence resources). Then call RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE for confidential 24/7 support.
When you are ready, contact us. Do not delete the app, do not delete texts, and do not give Uber or Lyft a recorded statement before a lawyer reviews your facts.
Why Uber and Lyft Are Liable, Not Just the Driver
The platform is the deeper pocket, and Oregon courts routinely allow survivors to pursue corporate liability for failures that enabled the assault. The most common theories include:
- Negligent background checks: Both companies have been sued for inadequate driver-screening, missing prior arrests, or approving drivers with prior assault histories.
- Failure to act on prior complaints: Internal records released in the MDL show drivers with multiple prior complaints continuing to be activated.
- Misleading safety marketing: Public statements about “safety features” that did not perform as advertised can support an Oregon UTPA claim.
- Vicarious liability where it applies: For some claims, the driver’s relationship to the platform can support vicarious liability beyond independent-contractor framings.
Meet Your Portland Trial Attorneys
Our senior partners review every survivor case personally. You work with the attorneys, not a call center or a junior associate.
George Goldberg
Senior Partner · Trial AttorneyWith more than 30 years of courtroom experience, George Goldberg has secured multi-million dollar verdicts against corporate and institutional defendants across Oregon. He is known for taking on platforms and insurers that hide behind arbitration and terms of service.
- 30+ years trial experience
- Multiple seven and eight-figure recoveries
- Focus on corporate and institutional defendants
James Loren
Senior Partner · Trial AttorneyJames Loren combines deep legal expertise with a survivor-centered approach. He has spent his career on cases involving sexual abuse, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death. Clients describe him as the lawyer who actually listens, then fights hard.
- 30+ years representing Oregon survivors
- Martindale Distinguished, Client Champion Gold 2025
- Trauma-informed litigation approach
What to Do After a Rideshare Sexual Assault
The first 48 hours produce the strongest evidence. You do not need to make every decision now. You just need to take the first one.
- Get safe and get a SANE exam: Call 911 if you are still in danger. A SANE exam at OHSU or Legacy Emanuel preserves DNA and physical evidence that disappears within hours.
- Preserve everything in the app: Screenshot the trip, the driver’s name and photo, the vehicle plate, the pickup and drop-off, and any in-app messages. Do not delete the app.
- Report to the platform AND police: Both create records that can be subpoenaed. But do not give a recorded statement to Uber or Lyft before a lawyer reviews your facts.
- Call a lawyer before signing anything: The platform may offer a quick settlement with an arbitration release. Our review is free, confidential, and tells you whether you belong in the MDL, in Oregon state court, or in both.
Compensation in Rideshare Sexual Assault Cases
Recovery in these cases depends on the path (MDL vs. Oregon civil), the strength of evidence of platform-level negligence, and the available insurance. Civil claims typically include:
- Medical bills (SANE exam, follow-up gynecological care, STI testing and treatment)
- Therapy and mental-health treatment, including long-term PTSD care
- Lost wages and diminished earning capacity
- Pain and suffering, PTSD, anxiety, and emotional-distress damages
- Loss of consortium for affected family relationships
- Punitive damages where the platform knowingly tolerated patterns of driver misconduct
Public reporting on the Uber MDL has discussed tier values ranging from low six figures into the high six and seven figures, with the first bellwether verdict reaching $8.5 million. Each case is different. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Local to Portland, Statewide Reach
We accept rideshare sexual assault cases across Oregon. Our Portland office serves clients throughout:
- Portland (Multnomah County)
- Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard
- Gresham, Troutdale, Fairview
- Salem, Eugene, Bend
- Vancouver, WA metro area
- All surrounding Oregon communities
Cases can be handled remotely. You do not need to come to our office to start. Request a confidential case review →
Explore all of our Portland, Oregon practice areas. For more on related sexual abuse claims, see our pages on clergy sexual abuse, foster care sexual abuse, and sexual abuse by a medical provider, plus our guide to choosing a sexual abuse lawyer.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on when the assault occurred. For adult sexual assault claims arising on or after June 26, 2025, Oregon’s ORS 12.118 (as amended by HB 3582) imposes no time limit. For assaults before that date, the prior five-year discovery rule generally applies. The amendments are not retroactive and do not revive claims that already expired. A free consultation will tell you which rule controls.
MDL 3084 (In re: Uber Technologies, Inc., Passenger Sexual Assault Litigation) is a federal multidistrict litigation in the Northern District of California consolidating thousands of survivor cases against Uber. As of May 2026, more than 3,000 cases were pending. The first bellwether jury returned an $8.5 million verdict in favor of a survivor in February 2026. Many Oregon survivor cases against Uber are transferred into the MDL after filing.
Yes, survivors of assault by Lyft drivers can sue Lyft. There is no equivalent consolidated MDL for Lyft, so Lyft cases typically proceed individually in state or federal court. Oregon law, including the HB 3582 amendments and the prior discovery rule for older claims, applies the same way to both platforms.
For cases against Uber, the choice is often made for you. Filings in federal court are typically transferred into the MDL. Cases that meet Oregon’s jurisdiction can sometimes be filed in state court, and that decision affects discovery, trial timing, and settlement leverage. We help you decide based on the facts. Lyft cases generally proceed outside the MDL.
Goldberg & Loren handles every rideshare sexual assault case on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing up front. Our fee comes from the recovery only if we win. Initial consultations are free and fully confidential.
Yes, confidentiality can usually be preserved. Survivors may file under a pseudonym (Jane Doe or John Doe) where the court allows. The federal Uber MDL has permitted Jane Doe filings in many cases, and Oregon courts may allow a pseudonym on a case-by-case basis. All communications with our firm are protected by attorney-client privilege.
You may still have a case. Both platforms retain ride data, driver profiles, and routing records that we can subpoena. Police reports, hospital records, SANE-exam files, and your phone’s location history all help reconstruct the ride. Survivors often think they have lost the evidence when they actually have not.
Both platforms have historically used mandatory arbitration clauses in their terms of service. Federal legislation (the EFAA, 2022) now generally allows survivors of sexual assault and harassment to elect court instead of arbitration regardless of pre-dispute arbitration agreements. Whether the EFAA applies to your case depends on specific facts that we can review for free.
You can still file a civil claim. Criminal and civil cases use different standards of proof. A criminal conviction is not required for a civil recovery. Civil cases often turn on the platform’s pattern of complaints, internal records, and other survivors with similar accounts of the same driver, which our team requests through discovery.
Drivers can also be assault victims. Many of the same legal theories apply, including the platform’s failure to verify passenger identity, failure to provide post-incident support, and inadequate response to prior complaints by other drivers about the same passenger. We accept driver-survivor cases under the same contingency-fee terms.
For cases against Uber, the choice is often made for you. Filings in federal court are typically transferred into the MDL. Cases that meet Oregon’s jurisdiction can sometimes be filed in state court, and that decision affects discovery, trial timing, and settlement leverage. We help you decide based on the facts. Lyft cases generally proceed outside the MDL.
Goldberg & Loren handles every rideshare sexual assault case on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing up front. Our fee comes from the recovery only if we win. Initial consultations are free and fully confidential.
Yes, confidentiality can usually be preserved. Survivors may file under a pseudonym (Jane Doe or John Doe) where the court allows. The federal Uber MDL has permitted Jane Doe filings in many cases, and Oregon courts may allow a pseudonym on a case-by-case basis. All communications with our firm are protected by attorney-client privilege.
You may still have a case. Both platforms retain ride data, driver profiles, and routing records that we can subpoena. Police reports, hospital records, SANE-exam files, and your phone’s location history all help reconstruct the ride. Survivors often think they have lost the evidence when they actually have not.
You can still file a civil claim. Criminal and civil cases use different standards of proof. A criminal conviction is not required for a civil recovery. Civil cases often turn on the platform’s pattern of complaints, internal records, and other survivors with similar accounts of the same driver, which our team requests through discovery.
You can still file a civil claim. Criminal and civil cases use different standards of proof. A criminal conviction is not required for a civil recovery. Civil cases often turn on the platform’s pattern of complaints, internal records, and other survivors with similar accounts of the same driver, which our team requests through discovery.
Drivers can also be assault victims. Many of the same legal theories apply, including the platform’s failure to verify passenger identity, failure to provide post-incident support, and inadequate response to prior complaints by other drivers about the same passenger. We accept driver-survivor cases under the same contingency-fee terms.
One Confidential Call. We Take It From There.
Whether your case belongs in the federal MDL, in Oregon state court, or in both, the first step is the same. You do not have to know which path is right. That is what we figure out, for free.
Call (971) 803-4962Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Pay nothing unless we win.
George Goldberg
Senior Partner, Goldberg & Loren | Member, Oregon State Bar | magna cum laude, University of Miami School of Law | Serving clients since 1994 | 30+ years, 20,000+ cases, 98% success rateLast updated: May 27, 2026Goldberg & Loren Personal Injury Attorneys
6500 S Macadam Ave #380,
Portland, OR 97239
(971) 339-8080
For most survivors, the hardest part of a case isn't the evidence — it's the decision to speak. When you're ready, our job is to carry the legal weight, guard your privacy, and make the people and institutions that failed you answer for it. You set the pace; we handle the fight.
George Goldberg
Senior Partner
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