5 ms·

She didn't get $1.1m, the settlement was $324,000 in damages plus legal expenses of $805,313. That kind of changes the narrative in my opinion.

throwaway4good 6y ago
Lawyers gotta eat so they can chase them ambulances ...
- paulgb 6y ago
  It seems like a lot, but if they are only paid when they win, the price has to take into account the risk they are taking by going up against a company like Uber that has a huge vested interest in not losing cases like this. If their chance of success going in is 25%, expenses are $100k, 2-3 lawyers contributed etc. it doesn’t seem like such a case of highway robbery (no idea if these numbers are realistic)
  - elil17 6y ago
    Their chances of success going in are much, much higher. Law firms won’t take a case unless they think they can get something out of it, like a cash settlement. This particular case was very very strong. $100k expenses are realistic, but only because many law firms choose to have extravagant offices and ridiculous corporate retreats. The firm is billing $500/hour - that may be the going rate, but it doesn’t change the fact that lawyers get rich while the people they’re supposed to represent aren’t fairly compensated for the harm that is done to them. The $1.1m was supposed to represent the damage that the canceled Uber rides did to her career, and now that’s damage that will never fully be made up to her.
notimetorelax 6y ago
Maybe, but I’m glad lawyers took her case, helped her win, and then got paid for it. Ruling itself may extend to future rides and help the blind community.
marshmallow_12 6y ago
that definitely changes the narrative. 800k in legal expenses! That's a lot of money. The headline should be "lawyers make 800k by suing uber". How was the damage calculated by the way?
- 0xEFF 6y ago
  It’s not that much. It’s about 1600 hours of work which seems like the right amount taking on Uber and their lawyers. Also factor in the risk of working 1600 hours and getting paid nothing for it if the case was lost.
  - tgv 6y ago
    1600 hours is 9 months at 40hr/week. What's the risk they were taking? They wouldn't have taken the case if the risk of losing was high, so their E(X) was at least 250k.
    - unionpivo 6y ago
      more like several people for couple of months. > What's the risk they were taking? They wouldn't have taken the case if the risk of losing was high? The fact the Uber has all the money in the world to hire good layers. And a motive to make it seem like its not directly them but their subcontractors problem, that is bigger than this single case. In such cases, there is no such thing as a sure thing.
    - rtkwe 6y ago
      That math assumes one lawyer working on this which I doubt.
      - tgv 6y ago
        In my experience, they always report total number of hours worked. That's what they bill.
    - AdamJacobMuller 6y ago
oh_sigh 6y ago
$324,000/ 14 denied rides = $23k in damages per denied ride. She must be a much bigger deal than I am.
- yarcob 6y ago
  She lost her job and probably a lot of time fighting this court case. I don't think breaking it down per ride is a good way to look at it.

throwaway4good 6y ago

Lawyers gotta eat so they can chase them ambulances ...

paulgb 6y ago
It seems like a lot, but if they are only paid when they win, the price has to take into account the risk they are taking by going up against a company like Uber that has a huge vested interest in not losing cases like this. If their chance of success going in is 25%, expenses are $100k, 2-3 lawyers contributed etc. it doesn’t seem like such a case of highway robbery (no idea if these numbers are realistic)
- elil17 6y ago
  Their chances of success going in are much, much higher. Law firms won’t take a case unless they think they can get something out of it, like a cash settlement. This particular case was very very strong. $100k expenses are realistic, but only because many law firms choose to have extravagant offices and ridiculous corporate retreats. The firm is billing $500/hour - that may be the going rate, but it doesn’t change the fact that lawyers get rich while the people they’re supposed to represent aren’t fairly compensated for the harm that is done to them. The $1.1m was supposed to represent the damage that the canceled Uber rides did to her career, and now that’s damage that will never fully be made up to her.

notimetorelax 6y ago

Maybe, but I’m glad lawyers took her case, helped her win, and then got paid for it. Ruling itself may extend to future rides and help the blind community.

marshmallow_12 6y ago

that definitely changes the narrative. 800k in legal expenses! That's a lot of money. The headline should be "lawyers make 800k by suing uber". How was the damage calculated by the way?

0xEFF 6y ago
It’s not that much. It’s about 1600 hours of work which seems like the right amount taking on Uber and their lawyers. Also factor in the risk of working 1600 hours and getting paid nothing for it if the case was lost.
- tgv 6y ago
  1600 hours is 9 months at 40hr/week. What's the risk they were taking? They wouldn't have taken the case if the risk of losing was high, so their E(X) was at least 250k.
  - unionpivo 6y ago
    more like several people for couple of months. > What's the risk they were taking? They wouldn't have taken the case if the risk of losing was high? The fact the Uber has all the money in the world to hire good layers. And a motive to make it seem like its not directly them but their subcontractors problem, that is bigger than this single case. In such cases, there is no such thing as a sure thing.
  - rtkwe 6y ago
    That math assumes one lawyer working on this which I doubt.
    - tgv 6y ago
      In my experience, they always report total number of hours worked. That's what they bill.
  - AdamJacobMuller 6y ago

oh_sigh 6y ago

$324,000/ 14 denied rides = $23k in damages per denied ride. She must be a much bigger deal than I am.

yarcob 6y ago
She lost her job and probably a lot of time fighting this court case. I don't think breaking it down per ride is a good way to look at it.