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March 2026
FacchettiLaw.com
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JUSTICE AT RISK
Uber’s Power Play, and What Crash Victims Stand to Lose
I’ve been driven since middle school to stand up to bullies and come to the aid of their victims. As readers of this newsletter know, that’s a major reason I became a personal injury lawyer. Now, my colleagues and I in the legal profession are taking on a bully on a grand scale. Uber has declared all-out war on highway accident victims and on the personal injury lawyers who fight for justice on their behalf. The ridesharing giant is pushing to get two deceptive initiatives on the ballot in California next November that would limit accident victims’ freedom to hire the lawyer of their choice and recover medical expenses caused by the crash. Currently, personal injury lawyers and their clients negotiate attorney fees freely. The attorney typically gets 33% of a victim’s negotiated settlement. If a lawsuit is filed, the fee generally rises to 40% and may be a bit more if the victim’s claim goes to trial. Uber wants to rob accident victims of the right to decide how much to pay their attorneys. In a cleverly worded initiative, the ridesharing giant proposes that plaintiffs must receive 75% of the amount recovered. On its face, that might seem reasonable.
Why wouldn’t a personal injury attorney be satisfied with 25% of the victim’s award?
receive $75,000 … well, the lawyer winds up in the red.
The High Cost of Victory The reason is that 25% is rarely enough to cover the high cost of building a strong case against powerful, deep-pocketed insurance companies intent on paying crash victims as little as possible. The attorney’s fees must cover investigating the accident, interviewing witnesses, gathering documents, arranging quality medical care for victims, and often, enlisting expert witnesses. Uber is also proposing to cap doctors’ fees for caring for accident victims at unrealistically low levels. Personal injury lawyers work with a network of trusted physicians to secure high-quality care for victims, many of whom lack health insurance. These doctors willingly postpone reimbursement in return for a lien on clients’ settlements. Capping their fees would remove any incentive for these skilled physicians to provide critically important care to uninsured crash victims. All of this preliminary work costs money. If an accident victim receives a $100,000 settlement, their attorney might easily have already spent $50,000 preparing their case and committed another $25,000 to paying their medical bills. If the plaintiff by law must
Uber has a good reason to try to sideline skilled personal injury lawyers. Insurance company studies show that accident victims who hire a lawyer receive settlements that are, on average, three times larger. All of Uber’s posturing for the public good is actually a ploy to put their own profit ahead of the public’s safety — the goal: to avoid paying fair compensation and damages to victims of its shoddy driver-screening practices. Every 8 Minutes The battle is heating up at a vulnerable moment for Uber. The plaintiffs’ bar, the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), has raised $50 million to fight back, promoting initiatives to prevent government interference in accident victims’ right to receive medical care and secure the legal representation of their choice. The CAOC is also promoting a ballot initiative to increase Uber’s liability for injuries and harm to passengers resulting from the company’s failure to conduct thorough background checks of its drivers. As reported in a 2025 New York Times investigation, Uber drivers
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AI’S HIDDEN RISKS TO CONSUMERS DIGITAL DANGERS
If you’ve been to an airport lately, you likely have posed for a facial recognition camera before entering your security checkpoint. This technology is just one example of how artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to not only identify who we are, but also learn more about us than we might realize.
In some cases, this reality is not a great thing.
Sure, being tracked online by AI may be considered beneficial by consumers who don’t mind receiving alerts on new purchasing opportunities based on their past shopping habits. However, society’s growing dependency on this level of technology is problematic when it leads to innocent people being incarcerated on false charges. Here’s a look at some of the growing risks surrounding the use of AI … and what you can do to better protect your privacy and rights from the prying eyes of emerging technology. Amazon’s Data Defect Debacle Although AI is seemingly everywhere these days, its use in the corporate world has existed for some time … and has created considerable gaffes along the way. Amazon learned about machine learning’s potential missteps the hard way. As far back as 2015, the company discovered that its AI-generated tools for screening resumes were biased against female job candidates. The system, designed to assign a rating from one to five stars to each applicant, gave lower scores to women who had applied for technical positions. The reason? The system had been trained to review and recommend candidates based on trends identified in resumes submitted to the company over the past 10 years, a period when men dominated the majority of positions. Instead of advancing future AI technology, Amazon stumbled back into America’s cultural past, creating a PR nightmare and “When faulty tech threatens a person’s liberty, it’s clear that AI’s road to perfection still has plenty of potholes.”
raising serious questions about the potential long-term harm AI could cause in efforts to promote gender equality. AI’s Misadventures in Faulty Arrests Facial recognition technology may be all the rage at airports, but the same can’t be said for its use at police stations. According to research conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Asian and African Americans are up to twice as likely to be misidentified by facial recognition as Caucasians. This discrepancy has real-world consequences, including the 2023 arrest of a pregnant woman in Detroit who was charged with carjacking after AI technology mistook her for someone else. When faulty tech threatens a person’s liberty, it’s clear that AI’s road to perfection still has plenty of potholes. Consumers’ Best Practices for Data Privacy Naturally, everyday consumers may also find themselves in sticky situations as a result of AI’s still-imperfect processes. Banking giant JPMorgan Chase offers the following suggestions to help better protect your personal information from AI-driven data tracking: • Utilize a separate, dedicated email address when engaging with AI chatbots, and avoid using the same email associated with your banking or social media. • Log off after every AI chat session to help ensure the system is not tracking your subsequent online usage. • Use only generative AI platforms available through the Google and Apple App stores and other reputable sources. AI may be a fascinating new chapter in our technical evolution, but it’s not without causes for concern. Whether you’re ordering shoes online or checking your savings account, forewarned is forearmed when it comes to guarding your identity … and even your freedom.
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Premises Liability Dog Bites Wrongful Death Catastrophic Injuries
If you’ve ever walked into your kitchen to discover your child’s mouth covered in chocolate while they insist they didn’t dip into the cookie jar before dinner, you know the importance of teaching little ones about being honest and taking responsibility for their actions. Here are a few tips for incorporating age- appropriate lessons on accountability into a child’s daily routine. Pathways to Responsible Preschoolers When teaching children the value of personal accountability, selecting tasks that match their abilities and level of understanding is essential. For children ages 3–6, this could mean having them take responsibility for setting the table (with supervision as needed to ensure safety with utensils and glassware), feeding their pets, or putting away their toys neatly after they finish playing with them. If they struggle or fail to fulfill a particular responsibility, use it as an opportunity for growth, rather than a reason to ground them. For example, if they forget to feed their dog or cat, show them FROM COOKIE JARS TO CAR KEYS Building Responsibility in Kids and Teens
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with past convictions for assault, child abuse, armed robbery, and other crimes have been accused of sexually assaulting passengers all over the U.S. From 2017 to 2024, Uber received a report of sexual assault or misconduct by its drivers almost every eight minutes, on average. The company has dodged liability in part because, as a result of a 2020 initiative also led by Uber, its drivers are classified as independent contractors. The company’s image has taken a huge hit since then. The CAOC is running ads and planning billboards to call attention to Uber’s reckless driver screening. COAC is proposing that Uber meet the same, much higher employee-screening standards required of taxi companies. I am in no way against big business. But this company has gone too far. If Uber has its way with our justice system, this initiative will basically put an end to vehicle accident personal injury litigation in California. I’ve told all my family members and friends: Delete your Uber app; use Lyft instead. Don’t use Uber Eats; give your business to GrubHub or DoorDash. Don’t use Postmates (also owned by Uber). If you’d like to help put a stop to Uber’s effort to take away victims’ rights, I hope you’ll do the same.
-Adrianos Facchetti
their pet’s signs of hunger … and remind your child of how sad, tired, and cranky they would feel if they were hungry
ST. PATRICK’S DAY SHAMROCK SWIRL PIE
and had to wait a long time to eat. If they forget to pick up their LEGOs, remind them
of how much it hurt the last time they stepped on a piece when they weren’t wearing shoes. Above all, be sure to maintain a positive atmosphere and praise them whenever they complete a task (especially when they do it without being asked!) or put in their best effort to do so. Guidance for Goal-Driven Teens If your child has passed the age of picking up building blocks, you can help them manage and fulfill their pre-adult responsibilities. Encourage them to budget their spending money (especially once they start working for the first time), take an active role in maintaining their vehicle, and coordinate their own schedules for after-school or social activities. While it’s always wise to be available to help if or when they run out of gas or sleep through their alarm, giving them space to be more independent (and occasionally make mistakes) will go a long way in teaching them the real-world rewards and consequences of how they handle their responsibilities. By giving children room to learn, try, and even stumble, we help them build the confidence and character they’ll carry into adulthood. With steady guidance and age-appropriate responsibilities, accountability becomes a lifelong habit.
Ingredients
• 1 cup heavy cream • 8 oz cream cheese, softened • 1 cup powdered sugar • 1 tsp vanilla extract • 1/2 cup mint chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup green food coloring, for vibrant color • 1 premade chocolate pie crust • 1/2 cup chocolate syrup, for drizzling
Directions 1. In a mixing bowl, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form. 2. In a separate bowl, beat softened cream cheese until smooth. 3. Add powdered sugar and vanilla to cream cheese, mixing until well combined. Then, gently fold whipped heavy cream into the mixture. 4. Divide mixture into two bowls. In one bowl, add mint chocolate chips and green food coloring. 5. Layer mixtures into chocolate pie crust, alternating between mint mixture and the plain mixture. 6. Drizzle chocolate syrup over top. 7. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours to set. Slice and serve chilled.
Inspired by MixUpRecipes.com
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Accomplished in Personal Injury Claims: Bicycle Accidents Auto Accidents Motorcycle Accidents Truck Accidents Premises Liability Dog Bites Wrongful Death Catastrophic Injuries
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626.793.8607 FacchettiLaw.com 4444 W. Riverside Dr., Suite 308 Burbank, California 91505
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1
Uber Drives a High-Stakes Fight Over Crash Victims’ Rights
Privacy Perils in a Predictive World
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3
St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock Swirl Pie
Age-Appropriate Ways to Teach Children Responsibility
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Fraudulent Fender-Benders
INSIDE UBER’S RACKETEERING RESPONSE BUMPER BETRAYAL
It’s a devious enough scam to make Tony Soprano blush.
Uber, which claims to have already spent millions defending itself against Loynaz’s suits, is suing the attorney under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. If he loses the suit, Loynaz may be subject to treble damages and attorneys’ fees. Interestingly, the case of the potentially crooked lawyer and his band of allegedly corrupt cronies is far from the only litigation of its kind. Earlier in 2025, Uber filed a suit in New York, alleging that another group of lawyers, medical providers, and clinics was carrying out a similar scheme in the Empire State. No matter how successful Uber’s battle against this level of fraud may be, the amount of allegedly criminal conniving taking place in Florida and New York is enough to make the most hardened mobster raise an eyebrow … and perhaps demand a cut.
Imagine orchestrating a series of intentional automobile collisions with the sole purpose of suing Uber for the recovery of car repair costs and medical expenses. This outrageous scenario is at the heart of the ride-share company’s 97-page lawsuit against a Florida attorney who it claims paid people to crash into each other to instigate fraudulent suits and attempt to rake in millions. Filed in Miami last June, Uber’s suit alleges that personal injury attorney Andy Loynaz, co-founder of the firm Law Group of South Florida, compensated drivers to stage accidents and later claim they were using the Uber app at the time. According to the complaint, these bogus bang-ups occurred near Hialeah, Florida, in 2023 and 2024, with Loynaz submitting $1 million insurance claims for each one and later suing Uber and its insurance carrier in four separate cases. Additionally, he allegedly coaxed representatives from Miami’s River
Medical Center, area auto body shops, and other medical clinics to falsely claim the accident had caused injuries and property damage requiring care and repairs.
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Premises Liability Dog Bites Wrongful Death Catastrophic Injuries
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