Pierce County woman injured abroad in T-bone crash related to Uber-taxi dispute sues
A Fox Island woman has sued Uber, alleging tensions between taxi and ride-share drivers in the Cabo San Lucas area of Mexico led to a crash that injured her.
Jennifer Shomer, 55, and a friend were traveling between resorts on a trip in February 2019 when the crash happened.
“I won’t get too much into the extent of her injuries, but I will tell you that the Uber car was T-boned by a car traveling about 55 mph,” her attorney, Spencer Freeman, said via email. “It was a severe impact that knocked out two of the three occupants of the Uber car. ... I can tell you that had Ms. Shomer known that the existence/presence of Uber in Cabo was causing confrontations with the taxi service, she never would have used her Uber App to get a ride.”
A spokesperson for the ride-share company declined to comment about the lawsuit but noted Uber rides in Mexico are insured.
Shomer’s lawsuit, filed Dec. 30 in Pierce County Superior Court, gives this account of what happened:
The conflict between Uber drivers and taxi drivers in 2019 in the Cabo San Lucas area “would arise into physical confrontations between Uber drivers and local taxi drivers, with local taxi drivers confronting Uber drivers.”
Uber allegedly knew what was happening but didn’t warn its U.S. customers.
When Shomer and her friend ordered their rideshare: “The Uber driver would not meet Shomer and her friend at the front doors of the resort, instead requiring them to haul their luggage to the frontage road outside the resort property to meet the driver,” the lawsuit said. “Shomer and her friend believed this was because the resort would not allow Uber drivers, but they later learned it was because local taxi drivers blocked the entrance to the resort.”
When they got to the frontage road they saw their Uber driver in a dispute with a taxi driver, which didn’t end when they got into the Uber vehicle and left.
“As they began to drive away, the Uber driver and taxi driver engaged in a dangerous game of chicken in their respective cars on the frontage road leading onto the highway,” the lawsuit said. “The Uber driver, rather than slow down to get away from the taxi driver, was pushed onto the highway and T-boned by oncoming traffic going high speeds. As a result of the game of chicken, Shomer was significantly injured in the collision.”
The injuries Shomer suffered led to large medical bills and “permanent impairment, resulting in her inability to enjoy life activities as she did before,” the lawsuit said.
