Uber on Thursday was ordered to pay $8.5 million to the plaintiff in an Arizona trial that is the first of thousands of lawsuits involving alleged sexual assault and misconduct by drivers on the ridesharing platform.

In the lawsuit, Jaylynn Dean alleged that she was raped by her Uber driver in November 2023 while returning to her hotel.

The verdict found Uber liable for the driver’s actions and lays the groundwork for about 3,000 similar lawsuits nationwide that have been consolidated in federal court.

The company was not ordered to pay punitive damages.

Uber and lawyers representing Dean did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

The ride-hailing company has said it should not be held liable for the misconduct of drivers, who are classified as contractors on its platform.

Last year, the New York Times reported that Uber received over 400,000 sexual assault and misconduct reports between 2017 and 2022, which was far more than the company had disclosed. In a report last August, Uber said serious sexual assault on the platform had fallen by 44%.

Uber has taken steps to address safety on the platform and implemented new features, including an in-app emergency button and pin verification. In July, Uber began piloting a program in the U.S. that allows women drivers and riders to opt out of being paired with a man.

Ridesharing rival Lyft has also faced lawsuits tied to sexual assault and harassment.