Uber Driver Refuses To Pick Up Woman in Labor

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The bad news? An Uber driver refused to pick up a woman in labor. The good news? A different Uber driver ended up taking the woman to the hospital. It seems everything worked out in the end.

Instead of taking David Lee and his wife to the hospital, the Uber driver balked because the expectant mother retched on the sidewalk. He informed them he would lose $1,000 a day if Lee’s wife became sick in the car and, what’s more, told them no other driver would accept a woman in labor as a passenger.
 
I've got mixed feelings on this. On the one hand, that is shitty to refuse service to someone in need. On the other, Uber drivers have to use their own personal car and if someone got puke/blood/whatever all over the interior that could seriously hurt their income, like this guy said.

Honestly the best option would be to not use an Uber if you're in labor. None of these 3 people involved had a car?
 
I've got mixed feelings on this. On the one hand, that is shitty to refuse service to someone in need. On the other, Uber drivers have to use their own personal car and if someone got puke/blood/whatever all over the interior that could seriously hurt their income, like this guy said.

Honestly the best option would be to not use an Uber if you're in labor. None of these 3 people involved had a car?

The few times I took a train into the city (to catch a flight), I conversed with people from there. As it turns out, many people don't own cars, and have no inclination to, given the prices of maintaining one, and public transit fitting their current lifestyles.

While I couldn't imagine myself living without a car, I also don't see myself living in a major city, either.

For reference, the article is reporting about an incident in NYC.
 
i am assuming they used uber because it is cheaper than a ambulance ride.
 
Poor driver. It looks like he was put into a situation where he's damned if he does damned if he doesn't. Now he looks like an asshole, which might hurt his income just as much as having a piss/shit/blood covered backseat.
 
Not the Uber drivers fault they tried to cheap-ass their way to the hospital. I'd have told them to call an ambulance and drove off.
 
There are these things called Taxi's, Ambulance's and Medical transport's that are designed for this kind of thing. The driver was absolutely within his right to refuse.
 
I don't blame the Uber driver, I blame the couple for relying on Uber in an emergency situation.

It's the life of your future child. Call a freakin' ambulance for crying out loud. :rolleyes:
 
They didn't want to use AMR which costs a lot of money if you're not insured.
 
I get why the driver didn't want to take her, but again, if it's early in the birthing process, there's no mess. Just someone panting every few minutes. Lots of people take a cab when they are in labor. I did it with my girlfriend. Again, just because the woman is in labor, it does not mean the baby will arrive in the next second. Typically people go to the hospital too early and spend hours just waiting around.

From the article you all didn't read,

"Fortunately, in the case of Lee and his wife, the day ended happily: they summoned another Uber car, which whisked them without incident to the hospital where a healthy baby boy was born a few hours later."

A few hours later. I guess when you're ignorant, lol, it's best to be cautious.
 
Since I can't edit, We went via cab for the first, had the second at home.
 
The liability issues alone would be detrimental. Given the hate on Uber, I'm not even sure any good Samaritan laws would help.

It's a tough call. Glad I didn't have to make it.
 
The liability issues alone would be detrimental. Given the hate on Uber, I'm not even sure any good Samaritan laws would help.

It's a tough call. Glad I didn't have to make it.


This. What if she was forced to deliver the baby inside the vehicle and something went wrong? Ambulance personnel are trained in this sort of thing so I think I'd trust them vs some random uber driver.
 
Fuck that couple... that's right I said it.

If you are having a medical emergency (having a baby counts) you call 911, and paramedics/ambulance will be there in minutes usually. Them expecting a private citizen risk his car and his livelihood for what? 50 bucks? Yeah, I'm on the uber drivers side here.

How is the couple being too cheap/too stupid the fault of Uber?

The public is just dumb enough to fall for this logic fail story too, some of that good old "public outcry/rage" *eyeroll*
 
I considered driving for Uber and this was the kind of situation I visualized that made me decide I didn't want to. I don't have an absurdly nice car, but it is pretty much brand new looking because I take really good care of it. While my compassion and such would scream at me to take the person to the hospital my ocd about cleanliness and my love for my car staying clean and new looking would scream for me to do just what the driver did. Seriously you would have to be family or a really good friend for me to let someone into the car that I thought might puke in it.
 
They didn't want to use AMR which costs a lot of money if you're not insured.

>implying that having a child isn't one of the most expensive things a married couple can do in the modern world

Emergency services exist for a considerable number of reasons, and Uber is simply not even one of those reasons.
 
Huh I just checked my box marked "fucks" and it would appear it is still empty....
 
Call an ambulance. Screw that.. I wouldn't want to be legally liable if I got in a wreck and her unborn child died. She would sue me for everything I am worth. Screw that.
 
I don't blame the Uber driver, I blame the couple for relying on Uber in an emergency situation.

It's the life of youar future child. Call a freakin' ambulance for crying out loud. :rolleyes:


>implying that having a child isn't one of the most expensive things a married couple can do in the modern world

Emergency services exist for a considerable number of reasons, and Uber is simply not even one of those reasons.

Except that going into labor is usually not considered an emergency situation. Just because a woman goes into labor does not mean the baby is coming soon, it just means the whole process has started.

That said, the uber driver saying he'd lose $1000 a day if she puked in the car is quite laughable.
 
As someone mentioned, ambulance medical responders are the only qualified people to handle any emergency situation that may arise.

You're having a child, its a huge event, not a budget vacation
 
Sounds like this was in the heart of new york city. They should have been taking the subway to the hospital. Save some money vs uber.
 
I get why the driver didn't want to take her, but again, if it's early in the birthing process, there's no mess. Just someone panting every few minutes. Lots of people take a cab when they are in labor. I did it with my girlfriend. Again, just because the woman is in labor, it does not mean the baby will arrive in the next second. Typically people go to the hospital too early and spend hours just waiting around.

From the article you all didn't read,

"Fortunately, in the case of Lee and his wife, the day ended happily: they summoned another Uber car, which whisked them without incident to the hospital where a healthy baby boy was born a few hours later."

A few hours later. I guess when you're ignorant, lol, it's best to be cautious.

"Typically" -- your words, not mine. It's a crap shoot, most of the time sure, people wait around for hours, but not every time. There's no timer on the woman's stomach that's going to alert the uber driver that bodily fluids are going to leak, or (worse case) the kid comes along right then and there.

99 out of 100 times, an uber driver could probably take a couple in labor to the hospital with no issue, but eventually there will be an accident, or the baby will come super early, or they get in a wreck. In our sad selfish litigious society, you bet your ass they would sue uber, and everyone that was at the scene if there was ever a wreck while they were in labor. Another reason to call 911 and get an ambulance that's big, safe, and has trained people on board.


I get that people don't have cars in certain areas of the country, but if I was an expecting dad, and had the general date of birth (they can call it pretty much spot on during checkups) a man with common sense would have rented a car for 5 to 7 days, so when baby decides to come along at 4am on a Saturday night, and all the ubers are busy carrying drunk people home, you still have a reasonable way to get to the hospital.

Sooner or later it would be so nice if people like the couple would realize that it's not the world' duty to cover or fix your personal shortcomings or failings in life. Having 9 month to figure out a much needed plan for trasnportation, and you tihnk uber is going to be there for you/? hah I feel sorry for the kid, being stuck with idiot parents.
 
I get that people don't have cars in certain areas of the country, but if I was an expecting dad, and had the general date of birth (they can call it pretty much spot on during checkups) a man with common sense would have rented a car for 5 to 7 days, so when baby decides to come along at 4am on a Saturday night, and all the ubers are busy carrying drunk people home, you still have a reasonable way to get to the hospital.

You get a general date, but nobody tells the baby.
Renting a car for 5 to 7 days is like playing the lottery, and you'll likely miss the date.
Besides, if they didn't have a car, they likely don't have a place to park a rental car.

Living in a California suburb, I can't imaging not having a car.
When my wife woke me up a 2 am, I got her to the car, picked up the bag we had packed with everything we would need, and drove a couple miles to the hospital. Pretty uneventful getting there.

The problem is they shouldn't have called Uber, they should have called a cab since it would be required by law to pick them up. And if they made a mess, it's not the drivers car, it belongs to the cab company.
 
Parking in Manhattan is abysmal and parking garages are hella expensive. I won't miss the days where I had to wait 1-2 hours for a parking spot.

Can't blame the lady for wanting a cab since the ambulance would be so expensive but at the same time they have to think about other people's livelihood. It woulda sucked for the driver if she really did mess up the interior.
 
I'm not saying I would have made the same call.

But the driver was fully within their rights to do what they did.
 
For everyone saying the driver was within his right to refuse service, at least according to the article, this seems to not be the case. The driver was legally obligated to drive them to the hospital.

from article said:
According to Emily Martin, the general counsel of the National Women’s Law Center in Washington, DC, city and state laws in New York forbid drivers from refusing women in labor.

“Uber drivers are bound by the same public accommodation laws that prohibit New York City taxi drivers and car services from discriminating on the basis of pregnancy when deciding who they will pick up—and those laws are a good thing, as they help ensure that not many babies end up being born on New York City sidewalks.”
 
For everyone saying the driver was within his right to refuse service, at least according to the article, this seems to not be the case. The driver was legally obligated to drive them to the hospital.

Sadly like a lot of law's they weren't writen to take in to account today. Like a lot of the telecommunication law's were write before the internet. That law probably was directed at a cab company where its a company owned card not the driver that owns the car.

As someone else said you don't tell the baby when its time to come out, well it could come out in the back seat and ruin the persons car. Image the # of days it would take to have someone professional clean that car if it had to be.

I find it sad that these people didn't have a FRIEND or family near by that had a car or as someone else said call a CAB.
 
Still.. to be so cheap and not call ambulance if its truly an emergency is ridiculous... wouldn't u have a back up plan if you're pregnant? I think these people were just being cheap and made up an article about it to just to be in the news.
 
It's typically an $800-1000 bill and I guess for some people that's tougher than than a $50 cab ride if they don't have health insurance.

Even with health insurance the ambulance is still very expensive. I avoid calling them as long as possible, within margin of safety.
 
Sadly like a lot of law's they weren't writen to take in to account today. Like a lot of the telecommunication law's were write before the internet. That law probably was directed at a cab company where its a company owned card not the driver that owns the car.
In New York, Uber is regulated and is basically just like a taxi company, except they can't do street hails.
 
Still.. to be so cheap and not call ambulance if its truly an emergency is ridiculous... wouldn't u have a back up plan if you're pregnant? I think these people were just being cheap and made up an article about it to just to be in the news.

Going into labor isn't like bleeding out... you do have time. Better save that money for the baby ;-)
 
For everyone saying the driver was within his right to refuse service, at least according to the article, this seems to not be the case. The driver was legally obligated to drive them to the hospital.

Of course there is a retarded law like that in this state.
 
It's typically an $800-1000 bill and I guess for some people that's tougher than than a $50 cab ride if they don't have health insurance.

Then you should not be having a child.

>implying that having a child isn't one of the most expensive things a married couple can do in the modern world

Emergency services exist for a considerable number of reasons, and Uber is simply not even one of those reasons.

Indeed. It is not like she fell down the stairs out of no where. She is having a child, they had a good long while to get ready and prepare. If they did not, it is not the fault of the Uber driver, good God how have we reached the point we actually think this is in some way the drivers fault/problem?
 
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