El Paso, Texas – The law firm of Glasheen, Valles & Inderman filed a personal injury lawsuit Monday on behalf of Jimena Martinez. Martinez was a passenger in an Uber vehicle when the driver ran a red light. The Uber vehicle was then T-boned on the passenger side by another vehicle.
Learn more through reading a pdf copy of the Uber lawsuit filed in El Paso County District Court or scroll to the bottom of this screen.
The lawsuit names Ricardo Melendez II, 28, of El Paso, as a defendant, along with Uber Technologies Inc., Uber USA LLC., and Rasier LLC. The three Uber companies are all being sued due to the complex corporate structure of how “Uber” is organized.
Press Conference
Attorney Noe Valles will hold a press conference at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, May 7 at the law offices of Glasheen, Valles & Inderman, which is located at 1101 Montana Ave, El Paso Texas 79902. The plaintiff in the lawsuit, Jimena Martinez, will also be present.
Background Facts
Martinez had requested an Uber on the evening of Saturday, July 29, 2017. After entering the vehicle, a black Lexus IS 300, the Uber driver, Ricardo Melendez II, was traveling westbound on Paisano Ave. At the intersection of Paisano Drive and US 54 southbound frontage road, Melendez failed to stop at a red light and entered the intersection. A blue Jeep Wrangler traveling southbound on the US 54 frontage road also entered the intersection, T-boning the passenger side of the Uber vehicle.
The crash resulted in a 6-out-of-7 damage rating on the Uber vehicle. Because Martinez was sitting in the back, passenger-side (back-right) seat, she took the brunt of the impact. Melendez, the Uber driver, was cited for a red light violation after the investigating officer spoke with an eyewitness. Three people—Martinez, the Uber driver, and the passenger of the Jeep—were transported to University Medical Center of El Paso.
The Lawsuit
The lawsuit alleges that Melendez was negligent for failing to stop at the red light. It also alleges that the three Uber entities were negligent for using a dispatching system that distracts their drivers.
The plaintiff’s attorney, Noe Valles, of Glasheen, Valles & Inderman, said: “My client requested this Uber ride expecting a safe ride home; instead, she got the opposite and ended up in the hospital with major injuries.”
The lawsuit seeks damages for Martinez’s bodily injuries. Martinez suffered a right-shoulder joint separation, head trauma, a scalp contusion, abrasions, and bruises. The shoulder injury will require surgery to heal properly. The plaintiff is also seeking punitive damages in order to deter future gross negligence of Uber. Uber’s app for drivers—and dispatching system in general—is both visually and cognitively distracting, which greatly increases driver inattention—the exact cause of this crash.
We also provide a download of the screen recording video.
“This crash was 100% preventable; the light was red, and the Uber driver simply ran it,” Valles said. “Uber and the Uber driver will have to pay for my client’s injuries.”
For further information, please contact attorney Noe Valles of Glasheen, Valles & Inderman, LLP at (915) 590-1900.
Glasheen, Valles & Inderman Law Firm
Glasheen, Valles & Inderman, LLP is a personal injury law firm that focuses on cases resulting in major and catastrophic injuries and death. The law firm has offices in El Paso, Odessa, Lubbock, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, and Albuquerque.
[pdf-embedder url=”https://gvilaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Martinez-Lawsuit.pdf” title=”Martinez Lawsuit”]