Uber is funneling tens of millions into a California ballot initiative that could make it harder for riders, pedestrians, and drivers to sue for damages after car crashes.

The measure could also limit consumers’ ability to take car manufacturers to court over defective parts. It is part of a broader multistate liability reform campaign Uber is backing ahead of its $1.25 billion plan to unleash robotaxis on a massive scale.

The California proposal, dubbed the “Protecting Automobile Accident Victims from Attorney Self-Dealing Act,” is slated for the November midterm election. It would require crash victims to keep 75 percent of their total settlement awards, leaving lawyers and hospitals to split the remaining 25 percent.

Uber has reportedly spent more than $30 million backing the initiative, which would apply to all automobile crash settlements in the state, not just those involving rideshare companies.

Supporters say the measure would put more money in victims’ pockets. But critics warn it could have the opposite effect, making it harder for car crash victims to find legal representation.

Many lawyers agree to take on such lawsuits on the condition that they will be paid only if their client wins. The 25 percent cap would not cover litigation costs in many cases, according to the California-based Dolan Law Firm, which helped craft the state’s rideshare insurance laws.

“If there is no viable way to be reimbursed, no firm can afford to cover these costs,” the firm wrote in a December blog post. “If attorneys cannot afford to take cases, victims lose access to legal representation.”

Also concerning is that the 25 percent cut would likely have to be split between lawyers and medical providers, noted a Consumer Watchdog report tracking Uber’s ballot measure actions.

“The Uber measure will effectively shift the financial burden of accident injuries onto victims themselves, the health care system, and taxpayer-funded programs,” Consumer Watchdog warned, adding that the initiative would also make it harder for consumers to sue for defective automobile parts.

Many consumer protection groups oppose the initiative, including the Consumer Federation of California and the Consumer Attorneys of California and others that have amassed a $55 million war chest to fight it.

Uber’s Liability Push Spreads

The California ballot measure is part of Uber’s multistate policy campaign to overhaul laws that could hold the company liable for accidents and injuries. Earlier this year, the company supported an Indiana bill that would have protected Uber and similar companies from user lawsuits stemming from injuries caused during a ride, but the bill died in committee.

In Nevada, Uber spent $5 million backing a ballot measure similar to California’s, but the state’s supreme court blocked the measure last year. In Florida, Uber lobbied for a bill that would reduce rideshare drivers’ insurance requirements during the time between trips.

And in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has proposed an Uber-backed plan to limit how much money crash victims could collect in lawsuits. Uber has dumped $3 million into a political action committee supporting Hochul during her 2026 reelection campaign.

These legislative battles come as Uber invests up to $1.25 billion in the electric-vehicle company Rivian to build fifty thousand robotaxis. The companies plan to release their first vehicles in Miami and San Francisco in 2028 and expand to twenty-five other US and international cities by 2031.

Additionally, Uber is fighting “one of the largest waves of passenger sexual assault lawsuits in U.S. history,” stemming from thousands of allegations nationwide that the company failed to properly screen drivers, ignored sexual assault claims, and did not take proper safety precautions, among other allegations.

In February, a jury ordered Uber to pay $8.5 million to a victim after it found the company liable for its driver’s sexual assault. It was the first of more than three thousand similar lawsuits the company is facing.