Massachusetts man sues Uber for $63 million after crash leaves him paralyzed

A Massachusetts man who was left paralyzed after an Uber ride he was in was involved in a car crash is suing the company over the driver's driving history.

William Good filed the lawsuit Tuesday and is seeking $63 million from the rideshare company. Good alleges Uber was negligent in hiring his driver after discovering the driver had at least 20 citations, The Boston Globe reported.

On April 30, 2021, Good ordered an Uber after leaving his job and said the driver's speed was "so fast as to be noticeably frightening" and the vehicle crashed into a parked car, according to the lawsuit.

During the car crash, Good banged his head on the passenger seat's headrest and told The Boston Globe he "knew immediately he was paralyzed." Good, 31, is now a quadriplegic.

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"It's a level of incapability that I'm at," Good told The Boston Globe. "That was kind of the real heartbreak part, just coming to terms with these things I hadn't thought of yet."

The Uber driver's record shows at least 20 driving citations since 1996 and he was previously required to take a driver retraining course, according to the lawsuit.

Uber declined USA TODAY's request for comment, citing the ongoing lawsuit. t.

Uber told Insider that before being hired the company's drivers in Massachusetts go through a two-part screening that checks their motor vehicle records and criminal offenses at the local, state and federal level. The process also includes a state-managed background check and drivers are re-screened at least every six months.

“The consuming passenger here in Massachusetts is led to believe that Uber is in the business of vetting, screening and holding its drivers to certain standards, when in fact, that’s really not true in many, many cases and that leads directly to what happened here,” Good’s lawyer, Victoria Santoro Mair, of Sweeney Merrigan Law, told The Boston Globe. “Now we have a 31-year-old man who had a life, and a career, that’s been completely derailed, completely ruined.”

Good is seeking a jury trial and damages for extraordinary pain, loss of enjoyment of life as well as psychological, financial and economic damages.

“I would much rather go back to cooking and making 17 bucks an hour for 16 hours a day and doing something I love again than whatever number they offer or give me,” Good told The Boston Globe.

Follow Gabriela Miranda on Twitter: @itsgabbymiranda

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man sues Uber for $63 million after car crash leaves him paralyzed