Jessika was looking forward to becoming a mother. Now it might not go away.
Photo: Private
The white pickup that the Uber driver collided with.
Photo: Private
Jessika had emergency surgery after the accident. She had, among other things, a crushed spine and blood in her lungs.
Photo: Private
Jessika Nilsson, 34, describes herself as a digital nomad and entrepreneur. She is originally from Stockholm, but has moved around between different countries and has been working remotely for many years.
Jessika runs a company that arranges safari trips in Africa. Therefore, she often has errands in South Africa, a country she once called her home.
Today, the house in Cape Town feels more like a prison. Jessika is currently stranded. On doctor’s advice, she is not allowed to fly. After a serious accident, her body is too fragile.
– I just want to go home to Sweden, she says.
Damaged for life
There was nothing special about the evening of March 5. Jessika was going to a pottery class in central Cape Town, and as usual she booked an Uber.
– I usually trust Uber because they guarantee so much safety. Uber promises that both their drivers and their cars are safety-tested, says Jessika.
When Jessika gets into the car, she immediately feels that something is not right. The seat belt gets tangled, something that makes her feel uneasy.
Uber in South Africa guarantees that the cars must be modern, no more than three years old, so that they are equipped with the right safety features.
The taxi that picked up Jessika was 12 years old, and lacked fully functioning seat belts.
Photo: Private
Uber South Africa promises safe cars that are a maximum of three years old.
Photo: Uber South Africa
Uber in South Africa guarantees that the cars are safety tested.
Photo: Uber
But the car Jessika steps into is a 2012 Volkswagen Polo – South Africa’s most accident-prone car, according to the South African Times.
The trip goes well until they reach an intersection in the inner city. The stop sign is on, but the driver does not slow down.
– I just have time to see that it lights up red. The next thing I see is the white pickup truck driving right into us.
The Uber car that Jessika is in drives straight into the entrance of a grocery store. Soon she is on the ground with difficulty breathing.
– I lay there and thought “it is quite possible that I will die here”.
The taxi is changed to an ambulance, and Jessika is rushed to the emergency department with life-threatening injuries. She has, among other things, a broken sternum, a crushed spine and internal bleeding in her lungs.
After an emergency operation and two weeks in hospital, one of which in intensive care, a long rehabilitation period is now underway. But Jessika will never fully recover. She will have to live with the pain for the rest of her life and the dream of starting a family may be crushed.
– It is so tragic. I want children, but it may not happen now. Because of the operation, I have to wait at least two years before I can get pregnant. By then I’ll be 37 and by then it might be too late. And even if it did, it would have been risky.
Jessika demonstrates how the collision happened. The pickup plowed into the side of her Uber.
Jessica’s Uber drove right into the entrance of a grocery store. No pedestrians were injured.
Photo: Private
SEK 25 in compensation
For Jessika, it is quite obvious who is responsible for her injuries. The car she was traveling in did not meet the safety standards guaranteed by Uber. The driver had also broken the traffic rules, she says.
After the accident, Jessika contacts Uber’s customer service in the hope of getting some kind of compensation. And she got that too – 25 kroner.
– They reimbursed me for the trip. Then they said they were sorry that I wasn’t happy with the quality of the car. It was like a slap in the face. I was lying on the floor and didn’t know if I was going to survive. But they thought 25 kroner was a reasonable response.
Uber Sweden announces via email that they cannot comment on ongoing cases, but writes that “drivers and passengers should feel safe even when the unexpected occurs” and says that they take the information “very seriously”.
But Jessika is not satisfied. Now she plans to take Uber to court, something she also told the phone operator at Uber’s customer service.
– Then he laughed at me. This is a specialist at Uber who will help people who have been hurt, says Jessika.
If anything, the laughter only motivated Jessika even more, she says. Now she has hired lawyers, and is preparing for a legal battle against Uber.
– Uber must pay, no one else. They seem to think they are untouchable, but I will win this.
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