Uber terms mean couple can't sue after 'life-changing' crash

Georgia and John McGinty, from New Jersey, in the US, are bound by a clause saying they could not take the case to a jury in a court of law.

State judges ruled they had clicked a "confirm" button on the app on more than one occasion when asked if they agreed with Uber's terms of use.

The McGintys argue they had not understood they were forfeiting their right to sue the company.

They told the BBC the most recent time the terms were agreed to was when their daughter, then 12, had accepted them prior to ordering a pizza on Uber Eats.

"How would I ever remotely think that my ability to protect my constitutional rights to a trial would be waived by me ordering food?" said Mrs McGinty.

Uber told BBC News: "Our Terms of Use are clear that these types of claims should be resolved in arbitration. It’s important to highlight that the court concluded the plaintiff herself, not her daughter, agreed to Uber's Terms of Use on multiple occasions."

Arbitration means the dispute is settled through a third party rather than in court - in this case a lawyer appointed by Uber.

Legal experts say it tends to result in smaller financial settlements.

The case has parallels with Disney's attempt to avoid being sued over a death at Disney World - in its case over the terms of a Disney+ membership - before the company changed its mind.

Pain every day

In March 2022, Georgia and John McGinty were riding in an Uber in New Jersey when it crashed, and they suffered extensive injuries.

Mrs McGinty's injuries included spine fractures and traumatic injuries to her abdominal wall.

"I was in the critical care unit for a week," she told the BBC.

"I had a horrible post-operative infection and almost died during this time, I wasn't able to care for my child who was suffering from unrelated injury," she said.

John fractured his sternum and sustained injuries to his hand.

"I shattered my wrist, broke my hand, and I have a steel rod with about nine pins in it. I don't have full function of my left hand," he said.

"I am in pain every day."

He added that they "accumulated a tremendous amount of medical debt" and still need further medical treatment in the future, including a possible third operation for Georgia.

The couple attempted to sue Uber over the crash, citing the seventh amendment of the US Constitution, which grants people the right to a trial by jury.

But the tech firm argued that the couple could not take the case in front of a jury because of a clause in Uber's US Terms of Use.

New Jersey's Supreme Court agreed.

"We hold that the arbitration provision contained in the agreement under review, which Georgia or her minor daughter, while using her cell phone agreed to, is valid and enforceable," its judgement says.

The judgment found the child had clicked the button to say she was 18 despite not being.

Referring to her daughter's use of Uber Eats, Mrs McGinty says she does not know how it can be right that she is considered to have "authorised my child to waive our rights to go to a trial if we're injured in a car accident."

"I don't know how anybody makes that leap," she said.

How does arbitration work?

Arbitration clauses are "very common," especially when dealing with large corporations, said Ted Spaulding, a personal injury lawyer based in the state of Georgia.

An arbitrator is "most often a lawyer who does this for a living," he said, who can "act like a judge and a jury".

They decide on an outcome after weighing up arguments from both sides, and their fee is often split between both parties.

In the US, the enforceability of arbitration clauses differs state by state.

In its case, Disney used the arbitration clause in their terms to argue that a man whose wife died at Disney World could not sue them in a court of law.

Jeffrey Piccolo filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Disney after his wife, Dr Kanokporn Tangsuan, died following an allergic reaction at a restaurant, run by a third party, at Disney World Florida in 2023.

Disney said Mr Piccolo had waived his right to a jury trial when he signed up to a free trial of Disney+ in 2019.

Disney later withdrew its claim to arbitration and opted to proceed with a jury trial after media coverage of the lawsuit.

"We believe this situation warrants a sensitive approach to expedite a resolution for the family who have experienced such a painful loss," Disney executive Josh D'Amaro told the BBC in a statement in August.

Mr Spaulding says: "The law understandably says, 'Look, you have the duty to know what you're signing'," referring to the terms and conditions people often accept when using a product or a service.

However, he says "the scope should be within the transaction that you're agreeing to".

Georgia and John McGinty say the Uber case has been "absolutely devastating" to their family.

Georgia says their daughter, now 14, "suffered a lot of trauma as a result".

She had a separate physical health issue which she was going through at the time, which her parents found difficult to help with while going through their own injuries.

"Years of her life with her parents... were taken away," she says.

"Luckily, she's a fighter, like her parents are," says John.

"We are inadvertently teaching her adversity and strength and family and prayer and resilience."

Uber told BBC News: "The court concluded that on multiple occasions the plaintiff herself agreed to Uber's Terms of Use, including the arbitration agreement."

The company added: "We are dedicated to road safety."

-BBC