A New Jersey couple badly injured in an Uber crash in 2022 just lost their case in court for the right to sue the company, and it's all because of one seemingly innocuous action on their Uber Eats account.
Court records obtained by NBC News describe how Georgia and John McGinty were in an Uber on March 31, 2022 when their driver ran a red light and smashed into another car, leaving both with gruesome injuries. Georgia, for example, suffered cervical and lumbar spine fractures, rib fractures, a protruding hernia, and other "traumatic injuries" to her abdominal wall and pelvic floor, leaving her unable to work for an entire year.
The New Jersey appellate court ruled against the couple because their underage daughter once checked a box while using Georgia's phone to order a pizza on Uber Eats that waived their right to a trial. In doing so, the couple inadvertently agreed that all disputes with the company should be settled with a private arbitrator.
"Georgia certified that her daughter was ‘capable,’ would frequently order food, and she and John were preoccupied with packing, which supports the inference that the daughter acted knowingly on Georgia’s behalf," the court said in its ruling.
The couple isn't giving up, however, as they plan to appeal the case. Their lawyer, Evan Lide, hopes that justice can be achieved for consumers like the McGintys.
"We’re talking about our constitutional right to a jury trial," Lide told NBC News. “That’s a Seventh Amendment right."
The ruling comes just weeks after Disney ended its efforts to stop a lawsuit by a man who claimed his wife died when she was served food that she was allergic to at a theme park restaurant. The corporation's reasoning was that the family similarly waived its rights to sue the company by agreeing to the terms and conditions of their Disney+ subscription.
Lide believes consumers like the McGintys will soon be vindicated. "The tide is turning, there's no question about it," he said. "In the court of public opinion, nobody wants these terms."
Georgia herself believes the issue goes far beyond just her and her husband. "I think that we need as a society to move to try to protect consumers," Georgia told Today on Oct. 2.
Oftentimes, the fine print is what you have to read the closest.
