A United States federal jury in Phoenix on Thursday ordered Uber to pay $8.5 million in damages after ruling in favour of a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by a driver, a decision that could shape the outcome of thousands of related lawsuits against the ride-hailing firm.

The lawsuit, filed by Jaylynn Dean, marked the first “bellwether” trial among more than 3,000 similar claims consolidated in U.S. federal court, according to Reuters.

Such test cases are designed to assess legal arguments and provide insight into potential settlement values.

Dean, who lives in Oklahoma, filed the lawsuit against Uber in 2023, about a month after the alleged assault in Arizona. She argued that the company knew about a pattern of sexual assaults by drivers but failed to implement basic safety measures to protect passengers — allegations that have followed Uber for years, attracting media attention and scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers.

However, Uber has contended that it should not be held responsible for criminal acts committed by drivers using its platform, arguing that its background screening processes and transparency around assault reports are adequate.

The company also maintains that drivers are independent contractors, not employees, and says that regardless of their status it cannot be liable for behaviour that falls outside what could reasonably be viewed as part of their work duties.

“He had no criminal history. None,” Kim Bueno, an attorney for Uber, said of the driver during closing arguments, noting that he had 10,000 trips on the app and a nearly perfect rating from riders. “Was this foreseeable to Uber? And the answer to that has to be no.”

In a pretrial statement, an Uber spokesperson said the company treats every report of sexual assault with utmost seriousness and continues to invest in new technology aimed at preventing harm.

Dean’s lawsuit stated that she was intoxicated when she booked an Uber to travel from her boyfriend’s house to her hotel.

According to the filing, the driver asked inappropriate questions during the trip before pulling over and sexually assaulting her.

Uber is also confronting more than 500 lawsuits in California state courts.

In the only case among them to have reached trial so far, a jury in September ruled in Uber’s favour, finding that although the company had been negligent in its safety practices, that negligence was not a major factor in causing the woman’s injuries.