A Russian Uber driver operating illegally in the United States was recorded on video head-butting a South Carolina CEO while holding his assistance dog, leaving the knocked-out client with brain damage, according to the victim and a new lawsuit.
Charleston-based CEO Bryan Kobel, 45, canceled a transport home from Maison, a French restaurant, in April when the driver refused to accept his service dog, Kobel told The Post on Thursday.
Surveillance footage shows the driver, Vadim Uliumdzhiev, 42, abruptly striding over and knocking out Kobel as he clutches his 17-pound golden doodle in the parking lot.
“The next thing I know, I’m waking up in a hospital bed with seven staples in my head and four stitches,” Kobel told me. “It’s been a brutal experience to this day.”
Kobel, the CEO of a biotech firm, suffered a concussion, amnesia, and scarring—and soon discovered from authorities that the driver had obtained the Uber job with a fraudulent license, he claimed.
“Uber has to take more accountability for its drivers,” he told me. “They’re creating chaos.”
Kobel stated that he had just asked the driver if he could bring his assistance dog in the vehicle, to which the driver had responded, “No.”
When he advised the driver to cancel the ride, which Kobel described as “innocuous,” the driver struck him, and his memory went dark, he claimed.
An eyewitness is seen in the video taking a snapshot of Uliumdzhiev’s license plate, prompting a frantic 911 call.
“He’s bleeding terribly in the back of the head; we’re going to need an ambulance,” the caller added, according to 911 recordings.
Uliumdzhiev was later detained and charged with assault and battery, according to documents. Immigration and Customs Enforcement subsequently placed a hold on him and transported him to a federal ICE processing center in Folkston, Ga., after posting a $10,000 bail for the attack, according to the Post and Courier.
Kobel struggled to recall words and tripped over sentences in the weeks after his brain damage.
“My job involves a lot of public speaking, and I was unsure whether I would be able to do that again,” said the employee.
“I wondered, ‘Am I ever going to be the person I was before?’ which is a very scary thought,” he added.
Kobel is currently suing Uber for undisclosed financial damages, but his ultimate objective is to persuade the firm to better safeguard its riders, he stated.
“Uber hides behind a thin veil of legalese to protect their riders,” he observed. “Frankly, it’s fake.”
“The company needs to make substantial changes in how it protects riders,” he told me.
According to the complaint, which was filed last Thursday in Charleston County Court, the Uber driver “posed an unreasonable risk of harm,” and Uber failed “to implement and enforce reasonable safety policy.”
Uber issued a statement denouncing the attack on Thursday but did not explain how Uliumdzhiev got past the loopholes.
“There is no place for violence on the Uber platform,” the firm stated. “While we can’t comment on pending litigation, Uber is deeply committed to safety and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations around worker eligibility.”
Uber also stated that it checks drivers with a criminal background check and requires a social security number and driver’s license.
The business did not immediately respond to The Post’s concerns about whether it intends to adjust any of its screening practices.
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