Schlesinger Law Offices is proud to announce that attorney Elana Goodman has been appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the newly formed Lyft Multidistrict Litigation. Her appointment places her among a select group of attorneys tasked with leading the litigation, including developing strategy, coordinating efforts across hundreds of cases, and working with experts to advance claims on behalf of plaintiffs nationwide who were sexually abused by Lyft drivers while using the rideshare app. These court-appointed roles are reserved for attorneys with significant litigation experience.
Multidistrict litigation, or MDL, is a way for federal courts to handle many similar cases at once. Instead of each case moving forward separately, they are grouped before one judge to make the process more efficient. Well-known cases involving products like Roundup and Juul have followed this process. Courts also use a few early test, or bellwether, trials to see how juries respond to the claims.
The Lyft MDL, established in February 2026, involves allegations that the company failed to implement adequate safety measures to protect passengers from sexual assault and failed to warn its app users of the known risk of sexual assault by its drivers. While the litigation is still in its early stages, it follows a broader trend of claims involving other rideshare platforms. A related federal proceeding involving Uber has already advanced to bellwether trials, including a recent jury verdict awarding $8.5 million to a plaintiff. That result is helping shape how these cases are evaluated and litigated going forward.
Elana Goodman has more than two decades of experience in personal injury litigation. For the past seven years, she has focused a significant portion of her practice on representing survivors of sexual abuse and assault in their pursuit of justice. She has handled claims against a wide range of institutions and businesses that failed to protect individuals from sexual misconduct, including schools, hotels, spas, religious organizations, and healthcare providers. She works closely with her clients while aggressively pursuing accountability for the serious harm caused by these assaults.
If you were assaulted while riding with Uber or Lyft, or any other rideshare service, you may feel overwhelmed and apprehensive about sharing what you have been through. You do not have to go through that alone. Elana Goodman brings a compassionate, trauma-informed approach to these cases, and works tirelessly to help you understand your options and move forward at your own pace.