Stephen Anthony Harris has filed a gripping lawsuit against Lyft, Inc., claiming that the rideshare giant's negligence contributed to the distress and eventual death of his sister, Harriett Barbara Jones. The complaint was lodged in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, on November 21, 2024. Harris alleges that a Lyft driver abandoned his sister in an unsafe location while she was undergoing cancer treatment, leading to significant emotional trauma.
The case unfolds with Stephen Anthony Harris acting as the administrator of his late sister's estate. Harriett Barbara Jones was a resident of Sacramento and relied heavily on Lyft for transportation during her cancer treatments at UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco. On Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 2023, after completing her treatment and checking out from her hotel, Harriett booked a ride with Lyft to return home. However, during the journey, she noticed that the driver deviated from the usual route and began traveling in an unfamiliar direction.
Alarmed by this deviation and fearing for her safety due to her vulnerable health condition, Harriett contacted her brother. Following his advice to call 911 while remaining on the line with him, she reported feeling unsafe as the driver continued towards an unknown destination. Despite her protests and visible distress, the driver left Harriett stranded at a closed shopping center approximately 56 miles away from her intended destination.
Emergency services responded promptly to Harriett’s distress call; however, the experience left her emotionally traumatized and exacerbated her fragile health condition. Tragically, Harriett passed away five weeks later on December 31, 2023. While her death was primarily due to cancer, Harris argues that the traumatic incident caused unnecessary suffering during her final weeks.
Harris claims that Lyft demonstrated gross negligence through its driver's actions—deviating from the route without cause and abandoning a vulnerable passenger in violation of California law regarding common carriers' duty of care. The complaint also cites past legal precedents where companies were held liable for their employees' misconduct within their employment scope.
Seeking justice for his sister’s ordeal and its impact on their family, Harris demands compensatory damages for emotional distress and physical harm suffered by Harriett. He is also pursuing punitive damages amounting to $17,837,000 against Lyft for what he describes as reckless conduct warranting deterrence against future occurrences.
Representing himself pro se in this legal battle is Stephen Anthony Harris. The case has been assigned Case No: CGC-24-619994 at the Superior Court of California in San Francisco County under Judge Sahar Enayati’s oversight.