Corboy & Demetrio to File Wrongful Death Lawsuit against Uber in Death of Hyun Kim

Corboy & Demetrio, which represents the family of Hyun Kim, an Uber passenger who was killed on June 8, 2018, by Uber driver Michael Hancock, announced today that the firm plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Uber.

“The fact remains that the shooting could have been prevented if Uber had enforced one of its cardinal rules: drivers are not allowed to have a gun in the car,” said Corboy & Demetrio Partner Francis Patrick Murphy. “Hancock routinely violated this rule and Uber failed to enforce its policy,” Murphy said.

Evidence shows Hancock stood out of the car and shot ten times into the car with a 40-caliber gun.  Mr. Kim was struck six times - mainly in the back.

In criminal proceedings, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant is guilty of the accused crime, a much more difficult burden of proof than in civil proceedings.  A conviction of murder is not essential to filing a civil wrongful death lawsuit.

In a well-publicized example of this, O.J. Simpson was found not guilty in a 1995 criminal trial for the death of his wife Nicole Brown Simpson but was later found liable in a civil lawsuit filed by her family. 

Media Contact: Helen Lucaitis, Communications Director, Corboy & Demetrio; hhl@corboydemetrio.com; 312-346-3191 (office); 312-550-2077 (cell)