San Francisco:
Ride service Uber has reached a tentative settlement in a lawsuit brought by the family of a six-year-old girl who died in a San Francisco car accident, according to court filings.
The girl, Sofia Liu, died after she, her younger brother and their mother were hit by a car in a San Francisco cross-walk on New Year's Eve in 2013. At the time of the crash, the driver was logged on to the Uber X smartphone app and was available to provide rides, the lawsuit said.
Liu's family asked the court to keep terms of the settlement with Uber confidential, court filings showed, citing the privacy of her brother.
"The settlement is confidential and the family will only say that while nothing will ever bring Sofia back, they are grateful to the American Judicial System for providing them a way to resolve the legal issues raised by Sofia's death," Christopher Dolan, attorney for the Liu family, said in a statement.
Uber said in a statement, "The Lius suffered a terrible tragedy and our hearts go out to them. While we cannot ease their pain, we do hope that this settlement helps the family move forward."
Uber is a well known sharing-economy company operating in 57 countries with an estimated value of more than $40 billion.
It has generated controversy and in some places opposition. Uber is involved in several legal proceedings to determine if its drivers are independent contractors or employees entitled to benefits.
© Thomson Reuters 2015