A couple, whose lives have been turned upside down after sustaining life-changing injuries while riding an Uber, have been told that they cannot sue the company due to the terms and conditions the accepted when installing the app.
The pair, John and Georgia McGinty, from New Jersey, are allegedly bound by a clause saying they are unable to take the case to a jury in a court of law.
According to state judges, they had clicked the ‘confirm’ button on the Uber app more than once when showed the company’s terms of use.
The couple argues that they did not understand they were forfeiting their right to sue Uber. They later told media outlets that the most recent time they accepted the terms was when their 12-year-old used their phone to order pizza via Uber Eats.
Georgia argues it’s impossible for someone to realize they are forfeiting their constitutional rights to a trial by ordering food via an app.
According to Uber, however, their Terms of Use are clear in that these types of cases ‘should be resoloved in arbitration’, meaning that the dispute is to be settled though a third party instead of at a court of law.
Chronic Pain
In March 2022, the couple were riding an Uber in New Jersey when it crashed, causing significant injuries.
Georgia suffered traumatic injuries to her abdomen in addition to spine fractures and had to stay at the critical care unit at the hospital for one week.
She also suffered from a horrible infection after surgery, which almost led to her death.
As for John, he had fractured his sternum and shattered his wrist. While surgeons inserted a steel rod into his wrist, he still does not have full function of his hand and is in pain every day.
The pair has also amassed a significant amount of medical debt due to the injuries. What’s worse, is that they will need further treatment in the future, including a potential third surgery for Georgia.
Georgia and John tried to sue Uber over the collision, however, they were told they could not take the case to court due to a clause in Uber’s Terms of Use. The Supreme Court would ultimately agree, despite the fact that it was the couple’s minor daughter who had agreed to said terms while using the app to order pizza.
They also discovered that the child had clicked the button verifying she was over the age of 18, when in fact she was not.
The couple says the entire ordeal has been ‘absolutely devastating’ to their family. In addition to their injuries, their daughter, who is now fourteen, also ‘suffered a lot of trauma’ as a result from the case.
The teen had also been suffering a separate health condition at the time. Due to her parents’ injuries, however, they were unable to help her through it.
Fortunately, she is a ‘fighter’, according to John.
