Uber, Lyft Have Failed To Adequately Extend Their Services To Passengers Who Use Wheelchairs, Suits Claim
The attorney for the plaintiffs says that both companies have a huge amount of control and influence over their drivers. “If they can use that control to serve Uber and Lyft’s interests, they can exercise that control to create conditions where wheelchair-accessible service is a reality,” Melissa Riess said.
The Associated Press:
California Lawsuits Accuse Uber And Lyft Of Discriminating Against Wheelchair Users
If a person wants to drive for Uber or Lyft but doesn’t have a car, both ride-hailing companies steer them toward rental cars. If a driver doesn’t feel like getting behind the wheel when it rains, both companies sweeten the deal by offering additional pay. If a driver’s car isn’t wheelchair accessible, should Uber and Lyft then encourage them to drive a vehicle that is more accommodating? That’s the question at the heart of two lawsuits that attorneys from Disabilities Rights Advocates, a nonprofit advocacy group, filed in recent weeks against Lyft and Uber. (Lien, 3/15)
In other news out of the courts —
KQED:
S.F.-Based McKesson Corp. Subpoenaed In Opioid Probe
New York state prosecutors have served the McKesson Corp. with a subpoena in connection with a multistate investigation into the San Francisco-based drug distribution giant's opioid marketing and sales practices. The office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman confirmed Thursday that it served McKesson, the nation's largest prescription drug distributor, and Ohio-based Cardinal Health, with subpoenas, seeking company records and communications related to suspicious drug orders. (Goldberg, 3/15)
Orange County Register/City News Service:
Co-Owner Of SoCal Drug Treatment Centers Pleads Guilty In Massive Billing Scheme
The co-owner of a company that operated drug and alcohol treatment centers in Southern California and Colorado pleaded guilty Wednesday to all 46 felony counts against her involving a $175 million health-care billing scheme. Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo immediately sentenced Kirsten Wallace, 44, to 11 years in state prison following her plea to 28 counts of money laundering, seven counts of grand theft of personal property, six counts of identity theft and five counts of insurance fraud, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. (3/15)