Uber execs shared rape survivor's medical records, so now she's suing the ride-hailing company

A woman who survived a rape by her Uber driver in India back in 2014 filed a lawsuit Thursday against the ride-hailing company after it was revealed that her medical records were shared with the company's leadership.

The plaintiff, a woman who lives in Texas, filed the suit in a California district court where Uber is based. She's represented by New York attorney Douglas Wigdor. She claims the company violated her a second time by "unlawfully obtaining and sharing her medical records from that vicious sexual assault." The suit says the company has not apologized.

Uber's head of business in Asia Pacific, Eric Alexander, was fired last week after his part in acquiring and sharing the medical records was reported by Recode. The firing was a move separate from a massive sexual harassment investigation by Perkins Coie, an international law firm. So far that's led to 20 employees getting fired.

Alexander had obtained the records back in 2014 and shared them with CEO Travis Kalanick and business SVP Emil Michael. The suit claims the company was looking into whether the rape was an effort to undermine the company by an Uber rival in India.

"Nothing was further from the truth," the suit says. The driver was convicted for raping the woman.

In the suit, "Jane Doe" says her privacy was violated and she was defamed when reports came out that the company reviewed her medical records after the rape. "Plaintiff was devastated when she learned that her extremely private, confidential medical records had been passed around Uber," the document says.

The company had held onto the records for years. Now after an external review of workplace discrimination and sexual harassment more information about the company has been released.

"Alexander’s actions were just a sampling in a long series of inappropriate, discriminatory actions that he, Kalanick and Michael took for years without any consequences," the suit says before listing the investigation's latest findings.

The suit calls for a jury trial and an unspecified amount in damages.

An Uber spokesperson said in response to the suit, "No one should have to go through a horrific experience like this, and we're truly sorry that she's had to relive it over the last few weeks."

Here's the full lawsuit:

If you have experienced sexual abuse, call the free, confidential National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), or access the 24-7 help online by visiting online.rainn.org.