A South Carolina biotech CEO is suing Uber after a violent parking lot assault by an illegal immigrant driver left him unconscious, bleeding and fearing for his life.
Bryan Kobel, 45, CEO of TC BioPharm, filed a lawsuit on Monday, accusing the rideshare company of gross negligence after one of its drivers – a Russian national in the U.S. illegally – headbutted and punched him outside a downtown Charleston restaurant in April.
The brutal attack, caught on surveillance footage, knocked both Kobel and his small service dog to the pavement.
‘Uber let a wolf into the hen house,’ Kobel said in a scathing statement. ‘They allowed a man who was in the country illegally, with a fake license, to snake his way through their background check and violently assault a passenger.’
The driver, identified as 42-year-old Vadim Uliumdzhiev, was later arrested and charged with second-degree assault and battery.
After posting a $10,000 bond, he was transferred to a federal ICE facility in Georgia when officials learned he was in the U.S. unlawfully.
After dining at Maison on King Street with his girlfriend, Kobel called an Uber to head home, according to the lawsuit.
When the driver arrived, he refused to allow Kobel’s 17-pound goldendoodle – a licensed service dog – in the vehicle.
Kobel said he then calmly asked to cancel the ride and seconds later, the driver snapped.
Security footage shows Uliumdzhiev storming out of his Audi SUV and confronting Kobel before suddenly headbutting him in the face and landing a punch that dropped the CEO cold.
Kobel’s dog crashed to the ground with him as bystanders watched in horror.
‘He’s bleeding very badly in the back of the head,’ one witness told 911. ‘We’re going to need an ambulance… there’s a gazillion witnesses.’
Kobel was rushed to hospital with a concussion and a deep head wound that required seven staples, according to the lawsuit, and in the weeks that followed, he said he struggled with memory loss, vision issues, and slurred speech.
‘It was about 60 days before I could have some semblance of a normal life,’ he said. ‘I had to bring my employees on a Zoom call and explain what happened. I couldn’t look at screens or find the right words. You wonder if you’ll ever be whole again.’
While Kobel was being treated, his attacker reportedly picked up another Uber passenger just two minutes after fleeing the scene.
‘This man violently assaults me, leaves me effectively bleeding out from my head in a parking lot, speeds off, and picks somebody up two minutes later,’ Kobel said.
The tech CEO later took aim at the transportation company, claiming his account had been deactivated after the attack – despite his providing evidence of the driver’s heinous wrongdoing.
‘When I left the hospital, my account had been suspended, and within 48 hours, it had been deactivated. Despite me sharing hospital records, police records, the detective’s name and phone number, and images of the assault, Uber chose to effectively victim-blame me and vilify me.’
Authorities also confirmed the driver had no valid license and was using fraudulent documents.
Kobel’s attorneys add that Uber failed to properly verify his identity, allowing a dangerous individual access to the platform.
‘Riders rely on Uber to know who is behind the wheel,’ Kobel’s attorney, Kenneth Berger, said. ‘Instead, a man using a fake ID was allowed to assault a passenger and flee. Uber must answer for how this happened.’
The searing lawsuit accuses Uber and its subsidiary, Raiser, of failing to vet drivers, enforce safety standards, or take appropriate action after the assault. It also claims the company prioritizes profits over passenger safety.
‘Uber claims to have safeguards in place – but those clearly failed,’ Kobel said. ‘This is about more than just me. They need to change how they screen and monitor drivers before someone else gets hurt – or worse.’
Uber issued a brief statement Thursday, condemning the attack but offering no details on how Uliumdzhiev was approved to drive.
‘There is no place for violence on the Uber platform,’ the company said. ‘Uber is deeply committed to safety and complies with all applicable laws and regulations.’
However, the company did not answer questions about whether it plans to change its driver screening process or how the fake credentials slipped through the system.
As of this week, Uliumdzhiev remains in ICE custody, Fox News reported.
The criminal case against him is pending in Charleston County Circuit Court and he is slated to appear before a judge for a second appearance in mid-October.
‘You never think something like this will happen,’ Kobel said. ‘But when it does, you realize just how little these companies are doing to keep people safe.’