District attorneys in San Francisco and Los Angeles sued in 2014, saying Uber falsely claimed its criminal screening of would-be drivers led the industry

Uber could pay up to $25m (£18m) to settle a lawsuit in California over allegations that the company services aren’t as safe as it claims.

The suit is the second this year over the same issue, and Uber has already paid $28m in a class-action claim from riders.

As part of the latest settlement, Uber has agreed to markedly tone down the language it uses to sell its services: it will no longer claim to be the “safest ride on the road”, nor will it describe its drivers’ background checks as “the gold standard”. In addition, the $1 fee added to rides in the US will be renamed from “safe ride fee” to “booking fee”.

District attorneys in San Francisco and Los Angeles sued both Uber and its main US competitor Lyft in 2014. At the time, safety issues were threatening to derail the “ride-sharing revolution”, with cases like a highly-publicised rape of a passenger in India casting doubt on the companies’ claims to safety.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Uber’s headquarters in San Francisco. Prosecutors claimed the company falsely claimed its criminal screening of would-be drivers led the industry. Photograph: Eric Risberg/AP

Prosecutors claimed Uber falsely claimed its criminal screening of would-be drivers led the industry, when in fact, they say, Uber’s background checks were inferior to what taxi drivers undergo, because they do not include fingerprint checks.

In settling the case, Uber said it has already made many changes prosecutors sought. For example, Uber stopped claiming its background checks were the best available under a different settlement earlier this year.

“Technology enables us to focus on safety before, during and after a trip in ways that were simply not possible before smartphones. However, no means of transportation can ever be 100% safe. Accidents and incidents do happen. That’s why we need to ensure that the language used to describe safety at Uber is clear and precise.”

In a letter to the San Diego airport authority sent last year, the company pointed out that in some ways, it exceeds standard safety requirements. “In 2014 at least 600 people who previously drove taxis in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco—all cities that require taxi drivers to go through Livescan [the fingerprint-based system]—failed our background check. These drivers were not given access to Uber’s platform, but may continue transporting passengers by taxi.”

A judge in San Francisco approved the settlement on Thursday. Uber will have to pay at least $10m, and a further $15m if it does not comply with the terms over the next two years.