Release Date 
08/30/2025

The attack that occurred in South Carolina resulted in a lawsuit that questions the platform's controls over document verification and user protection in its services.

Bryan Kobel, CEO of the biotechnology company TC BioPharm, filed a civil lawsuit against Uber and its hired driver Vadim Nikolaevich Uliumdzhiev, after the latter physically attacked him during a dispute over the entry of his assistance dog to the vehicle. The lawsuit was filed last week in Charleston, South Carolina, and alleges that the transport platform did not verify the authenticity of the documentation presented by the driver, which resulted in a person without a valid license and without a Social Security number working for the company.

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The incident occurred on April 24 in the parking lot of a commercial premises in Charleston. Kobel, accompanied by his partner and his dog certified as an assistance animal, waited for the arrival of the Uber service after lunch. According to the account of the lawsuit and what was presented in the security video, the verbal dispute arose because Uliumdzhiev refused to allow the animal's access to the vehicle.

Kobel explained to the driver that the refusal to move him with his dog resulted in a violation of his rights as a person with a disability, information he shared at that time. In the images captured for 15 seconds by a nearby camera, the increase in tension between the two is observed before Uliumdzhiev hit Kobel.

The lawsuit tells that Uliumdzhiev gave the CEO a headbutt and then punched him in the face, which caused Kobel to fall to the ground losing consciousness. The driver fled immediately and, according to Kobel, "this man violently assaulted me, left me bleeding in the parking lot, left and picked up another passenger two minutes later," said the affected person in statements.

Kobel suffered traumatic brain injury and a wound that required seven staples on his head. The businessman reported that, after leaving the hospital, Uber suspended and finally canceled his account, despite the fact that he provided medical documentation, police and contact details of the investigator in charge of the case, which he described as an attempt to hold him responsible for what happened.

The lawsuit also highlights that Uliumdzhiev had been previously arrested by immigration authorities in California in December 2022 and released under the previous administration. Kobel and his defense seek that the legal process drives changes in Uber's policies to avoid similar incidents, as well as hold the company responsible for the lack of controls in the hiring of drivers.