The CEO of a biotechnology company is suing rideshare giant Uber, claiming he was attacked by one of its drivers and left with a brain injury.
Bryan Kobel, CEO of TC BioPharm, claims the attack happened after a dispute with a South Carolina driver in April. Kobel explained the conversation started as “innocuous,” but quickly escalated when the driver allegedly knocked him unconscious.
“I was shocked. Uber is a $200 billion company. When you get in a car with the Uber sticker on it, it carries that brand weight. It carries the trust that you have in that brand,” Kobel explained Tuesday on “America’s Newsroom.”
Kobel said he was stunned by the company’s response.
“In fact, he picks up an Uber ride about two minutes later after leaving me for dead,” Kobel said, noting that he contacted the company with hospital records, a police report and photographs of his injuries.
“About 48 to 72 hours later, Uber just deactivated my account.”
Kobel argues that Uber has failed to properly vet its drivers and has avoided taking accountability for what happened to him.
“You would have assumed, and I had up until that date, that they [Uber] do background checks. They vet these individuals. That they’ve got a stringent process that’s difficult to evade, and apparently that’s not the case.”
The driver has been identified as Vadim Uliumdzhiev, 42, a Russian national who illegally entered the U.S., according to the Department of Homeland Security.
After the attack, he was arrested and charged with second-degree assault and battery, then released on $10,000 bond. He has since been placed in ICE custody.
“I was taken aback,” Kobel said. “It made me wonder: How often has this person done it? How many other times is this going to happen?”
“It appears to me that this is sort of their [Uber’s] MO, which is: put yourselves, your end users, your riders, in a dangerous situation,” said Kobel.
“If something bad happens, disavow any sort of liability, any responsibility, any accountability, throw your hands up and say, ‘it’s got nothing to do with us.’”
According to Kobel, the incident began when he told the driver he would be traveling with a service animal. The driver objected several times, saying it was not allowed. Kobel said he asked the driver to cancel the ride, who then confronted him on the street.
“I put my hand out saying, ‘get in your car,’ and that’s it. Next thing I know, I’m on my back in the hospital.”
Kobel’s lawsuit states he suffered a severe concussion and head lacerations that required multiple staples.
An Uber spokesperson issued a statement:
“There is no place for violence on the Uber platform. While we can’t comment on pending litigation, Uber is deeply committed to safety and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations around worker eligibility.”
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