A couple who were left with life-changing injuries after their Uber crashed have been told they cannot sue the company because of the terms they accepted when using the app.

Georgia and John McGinty, from New Jersey, in the US, are bound by a clause saying they could not take the case to a jury in a court of law.

State judges ruled they had clicked a “confirm” button on the app on more than one occasion when asked if they agreed with Uber’s terms of use.

The McGintys argue they had not understood they were forfeiting their right to sue the company.

They told the BBC the most recent time the terms were agreed to was when their daughter, then 12, had accepted them prior to ordering a pizza on Uber Eats.

“How would I ever remotely think that my ability to protect my constitutional rights to a trial would be waived by me ordering food?” said Mrs McGinty.

Uber told BBC News: “Our Terms of Use are clear that these types of claims should be resolved in arbitration. It’s important to highlight that the court concluded the plaintiff herself, not her daughter, agreed to Uber’s Terms of Use on multiple occasions.”

Arbitration means the dispute is settled through a third party rather than in court – in this case a lawyer appointed by Uber.

Legal experts say it tends to result in smaller financial settlements.

The case has parallels with Disney’s attempt to avoid being sued over a death at Disney World – in its case over the terms of a Disney+ membership – before the company changed its mind.

In March 2022, Georgia and John McGinty were riding in an Uber in New Jersey when it crashed, and they suffered extensive injuries.

Mrs McGinty’s injuries included spine fractures and traumatic injuries to her abdominal wall.

“I was in the critical care unit for a week,” she told the BBC.

“I had a horrible post-operative infection and almost died during this time, I wasn’t able to care for my child who was suffering from unrelated injury,” she said.

John fractured his sternum and sustained injuries to his hand.

“I shattered my wrist, broke my hand, and I have a steel rod with about nine pins in it. I don’t have full function of my left hand,” he said.

“I am in pain every day.”

He added that they “accumulated a tremendous amount of medical debt” and still need further medical treatment in the future, including a possible third operation for Georgia.

The couple attempted to sue Uber over the crash, citing the seventh amendment of the US Constitution, which grants people the right to a trial by jury.

But the tech firm argued that the couple could not take the case in front of a jury because of a clause in Uber’s US Terms of Use.

New Jersey’s Supreme Court agreed.

“We hold that the arbitration provision contained in the agreement under review, which Georgia or her minor daughter, while using her cell phone agreed to, is valid and enforceable,” its judgement says.

The judgment found the child had clicked the button to say she was 18 despite not being.

Referring to her daughter’s use of Uber Eats, Mrs McGinty says she does not know how it can be right that she is considered to have “authorised my child to waive our rights to go to a trial if we’re injured in a car accident.”

“I don’t know how anybody makes that leap,” she said.

Arbitration clauses are “very common,” especially when dealing with large corporations, said Ted Spaulding, a personal injury lawyer based in the state of Georgia.

An arbitrator is “most often a lawyer who does this for a living,” he said, who can “act like a judge and a jury”.

They decide on an outcome after weighing up arguments from both sides, and their fee is often split between both parties.

In the US, the enforceability of arbitration clauses differs state by state.

In its case, Disney used the arbitration clause in their terms to argue that a man whose wife died at Disney World could not sue them in a court of law.

Jeffrey Piccolo filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Disney after his wife, Dr Kanokporn Tangsuan, died following an allergic reaction at a restaurant, run by a third party, at Disney World Florida in 2023.

Disney said Mr Piccolo had waived his right to a jury trial when he signed up to a free trial of Disney+ in 2019.

Disney later withdrew its claim to arbitration and opted to proceed with a jury trial after media coverage of the lawsuit.

“We believe this situation warrants a sensitive approach to expedite a resolution for the family who have experienced such a painful loss,” Disney executive Josh D’Amaro told the BBC in a statement in August.

Mr Spaulding says: “The law understandably says, ‘Look, you have the duty to know what you’re signing’,” referring to the terms and conditions people often accept when using a product or a service.

However, he says “the scope should be within the transaction that you’re agreeing to”.

Georgia and John McGinty say the Uber case has been “absolutely devastating” to their family.

Georgia says their daughter, now 14, “suffered a lot of trauma as a result”.

She had a separate physical health issue which she was going through at the time, which her parents found difficult to help with while going through their own injuries.

“Years of her life with her parents… were taken away,” she says.

“Luckily, she’s a fighter, like her parents are,” says John.

“We are inadvertently teaching her adversity and strength and family and prayer and resilience.”

Uber told BBC News: “The court concluded that on multiple occasions the plaintiff herself agreed to Uber’s Terms of Use, including the arbitration agreement.”

The company added: “We are dedicated to road safety.”

A young capybara’s escape from a zoo a fortnight ago gripped animal lovers across the globe.

Cinnamon’s Friday 13th flit from Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World in Shropshire has inspired memes, merchandise, and a song, which staff have on repeat.

Her keepers tell the BBC about the stress and celebrations of the week she went Awol and the impact on the small, family-run site.

Cinnamon fled her enclosure via a gate left accidentally open on 13 September, after being startled by a tractor mower.

Keepers realised within minutes the springer spaniel-sized rodent had slunk off to an adjacent area of long grass and woodland, and began to stake it out.

But, by the following night she had escaped beyond the zoo’s perimeter and owners Will and Becky Dorrell issued an appeal for help.

She was quickly located by a thermal drone in a zoo-owned conservation area, just 200m from its perimeter.

As rescuers slowly zoomed in, reluctant to scare her away, people around the world began to delight in the coverage of her escapades.

An off-the-cuff comment Will made during an interview, that Cinnamon was probably “living her best life”, made it into headlines across the world.

“Every single story I’d see pop up on Facebook or everything else had that quote in it,” Will said. “There’s so much bad news about I think people wanted a bit of light relief.”

Meanwhile, zoo staff who had volunteered to work around the clock to find her were running on adrenalin.

Will said: “For my wife and I it was a terrible week. We were both living on about two hours sleep a night.”

He described her eventual capture on 20 September as “a bit of a hairy situation”, with rescuers wading into a pond to coax her into a cage.

“None of us wanted to celebrate or anything else until she was back in the paddock.”

Only then did the tired staff breathe a huge, collective sigh of relief. “We’re all exceptionally happy over it,” he added. “There was a big celebration for the staff.”

The team has been shocked by the interest in Cinnamon’s story.

“It was really nice… that everyone wanted an update – everyone seemed invested in the story,” Will said.

But global coverage also ramped up the pressure. “We obviously got the best possible outcome… We got her back, she was fit, healthy,” he said.

“But things can go wrong, and things can go catastrophically wrong, and that was always our concern.”

Other than a minor graze on her nose, the capybara was remarkably unharmed by her exploits and even “had a bit of a belly” after a week of fending for herself.

“She’s got a little bit cheekier because she’s looking round her paddock now and sticking her head up to look over the other side,” Will said.

“She’s clever, which is probably why she managed to escape and why she took so long to catch.”

One comment on the zoo’s Facebook page following her recapture summed up the public mood: “Awww so glad she’s back safe! Never been so worried about an animal I’ve never met.”

While Cinnamon retreated from the limelight for a week for some R and R, other followers suggested what the zoo might do next.

“They should write a children’s book now to sell! Cinnamon, the great Escape or Cinnamon’s – living her best life! 😂 think of the merch they can make now!” said one.

The zoo confirmed its new star attraction would get a belated first birthday party on 12 October, featuring a hunt for her pictures around the site.

Now the danger has passed, “we’d probably be stupid not to capitalise a little bit”, Will said.

Cinnamon teddies, magnets and clothing are now available, with 100 orders in the first day alone.

“Now that we know that she’s fit and healthy and she’s safe, we can have a bit of fun with it,” he added.

A children’s book is in the works, and even rumours about a film.

But, Will confirmed Hollywood had not called yet. “I keep hearing rumours of a movie, but we haven’t yet been approached by anyone.”

Cinnamon is back on public display on Saturday, and is expected to pull in the crowds.

“Last Saturday was very, very busy – busier than we would expect it to be for a Saturday in September,” Will said. “I’d say the proof will be in the next couple of weeks.”