Delhi rape victim files lawsuit against Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, 2 others

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick speaks to students during an interaction at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus in Mumbai, India, January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Picture

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick along with former company executives Emil Michael and Eric Alexander have now been personally sued by the Delhi rape survivor in a California District Court for accessing the her personal medical records.

The victim, now a resident of Texas, had earlier sued Uber Inc. for failure to provide her safety. The lawsuit was represented by Wigdor LLP, a New York based law firm, and was learnt to have been settled.

In a fresh lawsuit filed this week, the survivor has demanded damages in an amount to be determined at trial, plus prejudgment interest, to compensate her for all physical, monetary and economic harm, Douglas Wigdor, partner at Wigdor LLP has stated.

The survivor accused Uber’s senior executives for “violating her for a second time by unlawfully obtaining and sharing her medical records.”

A Spokesperson of Uber in an email response to Moneycontrol said, "No one should have to go through a horrific experience like this, and we're truly sorry that she's had to relive it over the last few weeks."

The NY based law firm has alleged that Uber senior executives passed around her medical records and went on make 'numerous statements to each other and other employees at Uber that the victim was fraudulently claiming that she had been raped in collusion with a rival of Uber.'

Rival Ola in India said in a statement earlier this month that Uber had hit an “all time low on morality.”

"It is a shame that the privacy and morals of a woman have to be questioned in an attempt to trivialize a horrific crime. It is despicable that anyone can even conceive an attempt to malign competition," Ola had said.

“Alexander’s actions were just a sampling in a long series of inappropriate, discriminatory actions that he, Kalanick, and Michael took for years without any consequences,” the lawsuit states.

The accused driver registered with Uber was found guilty by an Indian court of raping the Delhi executive in December 2014, and is serving life imprisonment.

Uber had faced a backlash in India post the incident, which also led to a ban in the Indian capital of Delhi.

It was discovered that the accused driver had about four other pending criminal cases against him that put a question mark on Uber’s vetting process for its driver network.

Alexander and Michael have quit Uber earlier this month after reports surfaced that alleged that both had access to victim’s medical records. CEO Kalanick is also on an indefinite leave of absence.

The lawsuit comes just days after an internal investigation into Uber’s work culture was made public. The report, authored by a law firm where the former Attorney general Eric Holder is a partner, recommended at least 40 changes in the company’s work ethics related to sexual harassment, diversity, and gender discrimination.

Also read: Law firm recommends Uber to restrict alcohol budget, office romances