Uber and California’s trial attorneys reached a last-minute agreement to scrap competing ballot measures after both qualified for November, with Uber pledging stronger safety steps and the attorneys agreeing to limit lien-based medical claims. The deal is cont
For weeks, billboards around Los Angeles pushed two competing visions of accountability in ride-hailing. Then. just as November threatened to become the arena for an all-out legal fight. Uber and California’s trial attorneys moved at the eleventh hour—agreeing to scrap their dueling ballot measures and avoid what spokespeople described as a fight poised to become one of the most expensive battles of the November election.
The deal came a day after both measures qualified for the November ballot. It was finalized Thursday, with Uber agreeing to bulk up safety measures. In exchange, the trial attorneys will limit how much they can claim for lien-based medical treatment for victims involved in Uber or Lyft accidents.
“Both sides agree: Californians deserve a system that’s safe. fair. and accountable. ” a joint statement from Uber and the Consumer Attorneys of California said. The statement added that the agreement “protects patients from unnecessary treatment or getting overcharged. ensures access to medical care and legal representation. and strengthens safety measures.”.
The dispute had centered on how medical care gets paid after crashes. Uber argued that costs for treatment performed on a lien—allowing doctors to get paid from a cut of a plaintiff’s payout—can far exceed what treatment would cost if the victim had relied on their own insurance.
In return, the Consumer Attorneys of California said it will cancel its competing ballot measure. That measure sought to increase legal liability for ride-share companies if a passenger is sexually assaulted by a driver. The measure came after a New York Times investigation into sexual assault by drivers.
Both sides had spent tens of millions of dollars on the campaigns, with the advertising campaign blanketing Los Angeles.
Lawyers for the two sides described the fight as reaching a breaking point: the measure on Uber’s side, they said, threatened to decimate the profit margin of many personal injury cases, potentially leaving drivers with small or thorny cases unable to find an attorney willing to take them.
Thursday’s agreement isn’t the end of the story, though. Spokespeople said the deal is predicated on their understanding being codified into a bill within the next week. If that doesn’t happen. each side said it would move forward with its ballot measure—meaning the campaign spending and the escalating tension would quickly return.
Uber California ballot initiative Consumer Attorneys of California lien-based medical treatment Lyft safety measures personal injury sexual assault liability Los Angeles billboards November election