New Delhi: A woman who was raped by her Uber driver in Delhi has filed a lawsuit against the company and three current and former executives, after revelations that they had obtained and mishandled her medical records.
The woman, a resident of Texas, is suing Uber and its chief executive, Travis Kalanick, as well as the former senior executives Emil Michael and Eric Alexander, for intrusion into private affairs, public disclosure of private facts and defamation.
She said in her suit that the three executives believed her rape, in 2014, may have been part of a conspiracy hatched by a competing taxi company.
“Rape denial is just another form of the toxic gender discrimination that is endemic at Uber and ingrained in its culture,” said Douglas Wigdor, the lawyer representing the woman.
The lawsuit is the latest blow for Uber, which has endured a string of scandals in the last few months.
The US-based company is facing allegations of widespread mismanagement and harassment at workplace. Uber came under fire after a former employee wrote a blog post alleging sexual harassment and sexism at the firm.
In an attempt to repair its reputation, its co-founder Travis Kalanick said he would take a leave of absence as the chief executive.
India is the largest market outside the US for Uber and accounts for about 12 per cent of all Uber trips globally, as of last year. In India, the company operates in 29 cities.
Uber, which is locked in an intense battle for market leadership in India with home-grown firm, Ola, may see an impact of the top management-level exits at the company after the wave of scandals.
Since then, Uber's board has adopted recommendations made following an investigation led by the law firm of former US attorney general Eric Holder, who was retained to look into Uber's culture and practices.
Apart from Kalanick going on leave, the recommendations will see Uber exercising more control over HR and the overall culture at the workplace.
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