Uber's Initiative Against Victims: Protecting Profits by Making Injured Victims Pay More
Uber is Trying To Do Something NO STATE IN AMERICA Has Ever Done — And It Would Be Permanent
How Uber's Initiative Blocks Victims Rights:
Uber’s ballot initiative would write sweeping corporate liability protections into the California Constitution — bypassing the Legislature, bypassing the courts, and locking in the result permanently. No other state has done this. There’s a reason for that: it is a radical dismantling of the civil justice system that could never survive the scrutiny of the legislative process.
Uber’s ballot initiative is designed to limit its financial exposure when people are injured by making it harder to hire a lawyer and recover the damages they are entitled to — including medical expenses. Uber claims this is a cost-saving measure, but in reality it creates more protections for Uber after an accident — capping medical recovery and discouraging attorneys from representing injured victims. It shifts the balance in favor of multi-billion-dollar corporations like Uber,which would not face the same restrictions.
Why Uber Wants This:
Uber faces legal exposure from automobile accidents involving its drivers. By limiting what victims can recover and making it harder to hire a lawyer, this initiative reduces the number of cases that can be brought — and the cost of those that remain. In short, the measure protects Uber’s profits by limiting accountability when people are harmed.
The Asymmetry Uber Is Hiding
Uber’s Defense Lawyers
- No fee caps. No payment limits.
- No restrictions on what Uber can pay its attorneys.
- No criminal liability. No meaningful constraints.
Injured Californian's Lawyers
- 25% fee caps — often fully consumed by medical liens before any attorney is paid.
- Risk of criminal penalties if fees exceed capped limits.
- Many serious injury cases become financially impossible to take.
Real Case
A mother struck by a drunk driver incurred over $500,000 in medical liens. Her attorney secured a seven-figure settlement, negotiated liens from 41% of the settlement down to 27%, and charged a 25% fee. The client kept 48%, enough to cover her ongoing care.
Under Uber's Initiative
The liens alone exceed the 25% cap before any attorney fee can legally be charged — making it a criminal misdemeanor for the attorney to get paid. Without an attorney, the insurer's offer was $100,000, all of which would have gone directly to the insurer. The client would have received nothing.
What Uber's Initiative Does:
Caps Medical Compensation to Lower Uber's Financial Liability:
If Uber's initiative passes, injured victims would be restricted from recovering what they paid for in medical expenses, and make it harder for them to receive medical care.
“Limits Accident Victims’ Recovery of Medical Expenses” — that’s the California Attorney General’s official description of what Uber’s initiative does. In practice, it caps what injured Californians can recover at 125% of Medicare rates — a government reimbursement standard set for elderly patients, far below what hospitals and specialists actually bill. No other state in America constitutionally limits medical recovery for accident victims.
By capping recoverable medical costs at artificially low reimbursement rates, it reduces what Uber and insurers would be required to pay when riders are injured. And, it dramatically increases the burden of proof for injured victims to recover any medical claims — meaning many victims would be unable to receive medical care after an accident.
Blocks Victims From Hiring Lawyers — Reducing Cases Against Uber:
The initiative places strict limits on injured victims' right to hire lawyers, while leaving Uber's lawyers unaffected. In practice, this will leave many injured victims on their own, without an attorney to advocate for them against wealthy corporations and insurance companies.
Federal law requires attorneys to pay medical liens from settlements before distributing any funds. In serious injury cases, those liens alone routinely exceed the 25% cap — making it a criminal misdemeanor for an attorney to collect any fee. This has no precedent in American law.
Far-Reaching Impacts:
This is not limited to Uber or rideshare accidents. This measure applies broadly to all motor vehicle accident cases, affecting everyday Californians, including passengers, drivers, pedestrians, and anyone who may be harmed in a car or truck crash.
Every Road. Every Accident.
Commercial & Delivery Drivers
A trucker or delivery driver seriously injured by a negligent driver on I-5 could face capped medical recovery and no practical path to legal representation.
Motorcyclists & Commuters
Motorcycle accidents often result in the most catastrophic injuries on the road. Medical costs frequently exceed Uber's coverage cap—leaving victims with crushing, unrecoverable debt.
Robotaxi & AV Victims
Uber plans to deploy 20,000 autonomous vehicles across San Francisco and Los Angeles. This rollout effectively creates a liability shield—permanently limiting what victims can recover when failures occur.
Uber's initiative hurts all Californians
Download the fact sheets below learn more about the impact to California communities:
Trusted Advocates Agree:
"Uber is trying once again to misuse the democratic process and to disclaim legal responsibility — this time, not just towards their drivers but also towards consumers."
Veena Dubal
UC Irvine Law Professor