According to statistics by the JAMA Network, there were approximately 8.560 reported scooter accidents in 2017. Over the year, this number has increased dramatically. As of 2022, there were 56,847 e-scooter accidents that we are aware of – meaning, the ones that were verified by hospital records. It’s astounding to think that the number of accidents has increased by more than six-fold in just 5 years.

The JAMA Network also has statistics that are specific to Southern California – the home of the electric scooter rental industry. One study focused on accident cases at hospitals near scooter-sharing hot spots during a one-year timeframe. Almost 250 patients at these hospitals within that timeframe had injuries from a scooter accident, with 80% being injured after falling off the scooter. Around 11% of patients were in accidents where they crashed into another object. Frankly, it’s impossible to know for sure how many people end up with injuries from using an E-scooter. After all, not everyone goes to the hospital after they fall off a scooter or have some other type of accident. And many hospitals don’t have records that are specific to scooter accidents versus injuries resulting from other motor vehicle accidents.

Clearly, scooter accidents involve a specific type of vehicle that many people do not use. And riding on a scooter is a vastly different experience than being in a car. However, the injuries you can suffer are very similar to what you would find among car accident victims. It’s also worth noting that scooter accident victims tend to have more serious injuries because they are not protected by seat belts and air bags. The only thing they really have to rely on is a helmet, and that can only provide limited protection for your head.

Common injuries from accidents where a scooter hits a pothole include hand and wrist sprains or fractures, along with damage to the foot and ankle. People can also end up with traumatic brain injuries, especially if they choose not to wear a helmet. Other possible injuries include:

• Broken bones
• Deep cuts and puncture wounds
• Spinal cord damage
• Herniated disc and other back injuries
• Knee dislocation or fracture
• Torn ligaments and tendons
• Ruptured spleen
• Broken hip
• Paralysis caused by permanent nerve damage

Many different issues can lead to a scooter accident, including careless or deliberate actions by one or more parties. In some cases, it may be a lack of action that causes injury to someone else. For the most part, accidents involving motorized scooters are associated with the following circumstances:

• Drivers being reckless or failing to take certain precautions (checking blind spots, using a turn signal, etc.)
• Negligent conduct by the scooter rider, like weaving in and out of traffic, going too fast, and being under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

So, we talked about how the actions of the scooter rider and others on the road can cause accidents with devastating consequences. But you also have to look at environmental factors that are beyond one’s control, like bad weather conditions (fog, ice, and snow, for example). Another important consideration has to do with public entities that are in charge of fixing and maintaining the roads. Specifically, we are talking about city, county, and state transportation agencies.

How can a government entity be responsible for a motor vehicle accident? As you are aware, agencies like Caltrans and the Department of Public Works have a duty to ensure a certain level of safety on the roadways. This includes a wide variety of tasks, from patching up potholes to cutting off rotting branches that can fall onto a passing motorist or pedestrian. Sadly, many agencies are poorly managed and understaffed, and that means dangerous road conditions go unchecked for months or years at a time.

It’s important to note that scooters are two-wheel vehicles, which means they can fall over quite easily. So, going over a pothole may not be a big deal for someone that’s safety encased in a car, but it’s a different story when you are riding a scooter. Potholes can cause the rider to fall off the scooter or lose control of the vehicle, and this can lead to a collision with another vehicle. The rider can also fly off the scooter and slam into ground or the side of a building.

At the end of the day, road maintenance is critical to reducing the number of accidents for pedestrians and motorists. But we know that government agencies are slow to act in many cases, even after dozens of people complain about potholes, construction debris, and other hazards that are likely to cause an accident. In particular, potholes that are close to the curb are ignored for long periods of time because they are less likely to affect drivers. Scooter and bike riders, on the other hand, are required by law to ride as close to the curb as possible. This means they are extremely vulnerable to injuries from these types of potholes.

Please note that suing a public entity is vastly different than filing a lawsuit against another driver or private company. If you suspect that you were injured because of negligence by a city, county, or state agency, make sure to contact our law firm immediately. We are more than ready to take charge of your claim and ensure that you are fairly compensated by the responsible parties.

When you rent a vehicle from Bird, or Lime, you expect that you are getting a safe, well-maintained scooter. For example, you expect the brakes to work properly and bring the scooter to a stop as needed. This is crucial when a car stops suddenly in front of you, or there is an obstruction on the road, like a pothole. As long as the scooter’s internal components are working properly, there is a chance that you can stop the scooter or steer it out of the way to avoid hitting something.

To ensure the rider’s safety, both Lime and Bird recommend that you run a safety check before starting a ride. However, if the scooter is unsafe to begin with, one can easily hurt themselves during the safety check. We know of incidents, for example, where the bike suddenly accelerated while the rider was testing the handles or brakes. As a result, the rider can fall down or crash into something and be seriously injured, or maybe even killed.

The truth is, a product has to be safe before it’s available for use by the general public. If there is any kind of malfunction or design flaw with a scooter, the consumer can be harmed, even if they are not out for a ride. If they are in the middle of a trip, that would certainly be the wrong time to find out that the brakes are faulty. This is why scooter sharing companies must inspect and maintain their vehicles on a regular basis. Both Lime and Bird insist that qualified scooter technicians maintain and repair all their bikes, which makes it sound like you have to have specialized training and certifications to be a scooter technician.

In reality, there is no team of advanced technicians at the company’s beck and call. Anyone with some degree of experience as a mechanic can apply for a job as a scooter tech. With Bird and Lime, a lot of the training is done by watching videos on the company’s website. This limited amount of training is apparently enough to address all kinds of serious defects that can cause people to be injured on a scooter. To give you a better picture of how poor maintenance can cause or contribute to an e-scooter accident, consider the following scenario:

An issue with a Lime or Bird scooter is reported through the app. A mechanic for the company picks up the scooter and makes repairs on the vehicle. The issue itself was corrected, but the mechanic unknowingly creates another issue, which may be due to inexperience, carelessness, or being pressured to fix a certain number of scooters by the end of the day. Unfortunately, the mechanic’s negligence has resulted in a problem with the brakes, and the faulty scooter is dropped off at a designated parking space.

Soon after, a rider gets on the scooter and begins their ride. As they approach an intersection, they realize that the brakes are not working. The rider frantically tries to steer away from on-coming traffic, but they are hit by a car that crossed over the intersection.

In this scenario, the driver entered the intersection when they had the green light. Possibly, they could have stopped the car in time, so maybe there is some degree of liability by the driver. However, the greatest percentage of fault lies with the scooter company, as their employee caused the problem with the brakes. As a result, the rider was unable to stop the scooter as they approached the intersection, which could have easily prevented the accident.

This is an example of liability by the scooter company, meaning that you can sue Bird or Lime for the injuries you suffered. For more information on suing a scooter rental company for an accident, give us a call to speak with one of our legal experts.

Obviously, Bird and Lime cannot supervise every person for the entirety of their ride on one of their scooters. But they have various safety rules that they encourage people to follow on their apps and websites. Some of these are common sense rules, like following traffic laws that apply to anyone that’s using a motor vehicle. Other rules are specific to electric scooters, like checking certain parts of the vehicle prior to using it on the road.

Keep in mind that the state of California has a set of laws that apply to the usage of electric scooters, which include the following requirements:

• Riders must wear a helmet any time they are operating a scooter.
• Scooters cannot be ridden on sidewalks.
• Scooters can only be ridden on roads with speed limits under 25 mph, but you are restricted to a speed limit of 15 mph at all times.
• Whenever possible, riders must keep close to the right curb.
• All riders / renters of electric scooters must possess a driver’s license.

As you can see, these are basic, reasonable measures that reduce the possibility of an accident for scooter riders and innocent bystanders. If you have any questions regarding local and state laws on riding a scooter, feel free to get in touch with us at your earliest convenience.

Liability has to do with the state of being responsible for something in a legal sense. For example, a driver who hit someone because they ran a red light is liable for the victim’s injuries and monetary losses. The same would apply to a scooter rider that acted recklessly and caused harm to another individual.

But who is responsible for accidents caused by a pothole while riding a Lime or Bird electric scooter? As a general rule, streets and highways are maintained by public entities, like the City of Los Angeles or the California Department of Transportation. So, if you got hurt from encountering a pothole on the streets of Los Angeles, it’s probably the city that’s liable for the accident. That means you would file a claim with them for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other forms of compensation. Please be aware that more than one agency may be responsible, as some of the roads in California are managed by a combination of city, county, and state agencies.

Now, let’s look at a different scenario where you spot a pothole ahead of you and hit the brakes. But the brakes do not work, and you end up falling into the pothole and flying off the scooter. The city or another government entity may be at fault, but we also have to consider the faulty brakes that kept you from stopping the scooter. This is a maintenance issue, which means that Lime or Bird is partly at fault. In this situation, you would file an accident claim against the company and seek compensation for your monetary losses. However, there are situations where both the government agency and scooter company may be at fault, and these cases can be exceptionally complicated.

Pothole-related accidents are fairly common incidents, whether you live in an urban, downtown area or a quiet, suburban neighborhood. As the victim of negligence by another individual or entity, you have the right to file a personal injury claim. However, you must have clear evidence of how:

• The other party failed to take reasonable care or address a hazardous condition.
• The other party’s failure cause or contributed to an accident.
• You suffered injuries and/or property damage as a direct result of the accident.

These elements must be proven, whether you are suing a negligent driver, a public agency, or a scooter sharing company. Overall, we would say that most scooter accident claims involving a pothole are filed against government agencies. After, all, they are the ones that are responsible for filling in potholes and taking care of other problems that make the roads unsafe.

Filing a liability claim against Lime or Bird is more complicated, and they involve very specific and limited circumstances. For one thing, you would have to establish that you as the rider were in no way responsible, i.e., the cause of the accident is not something you had any control over. For instance, if the accident happened because of defects with one of the parts on the scooter, this would allow you to seek compensation from a scooter sharing company. In short, you may have grounds to file a scooter accident lawsuit against Lime or Bird, along with the agency that failed to repair the road.

Information on insurance coverage is difficult to find with companies like Bird and Lime that mainly operate as a mobile app. We do know, however, that both of these companies are self-insured, meaning they do not purchase liability insurance from another company. Instead, they investigate, process, and pay out all injury claims where it’s shown that the company is partially or fully liable for an accident.

Of course, the company will work to pay the lowest amount for each and every claim. This is why you can never trust the initial offer that you receive from their insurance department. Most likely, they will only cover immediate injuries and hospital costs. The truth is, you are probably entitled to other damages like pain and suffering, lost income, and damage or loss of property. Even with medical expense, you may have severe injuries that require long-term care. It’s essential that you look at the complete picture of how the accident impacts your life and fight for the highest settlement you deserve by law.

The same line of thinking applies in compensation claims against government agencies like LA County or a California city department. For most claimants, most of the money from a lawsuit will come from a public entity rather than Lime or Bird’s scooter-share insurance coverage. A pothole accident injury lawyer can help you figure out each party’s percentage of liability and how much you can rightfully obtain from an insurance claim or lawsuit.

The value of a scooter accident claim can be all over the place, and one claimant can end up with an amount that’s vastly different than someone else with similar injuries. Resulting payouts to accident victims can start at $5,000 and go all the way up to $1,000,000 based on the severity of injuries and many other factors. Those with relatively minor injuries are likely to receive settlements of $10,000 or less, but these accidents tend to cause serious damage with long-term or permanent complications. That’s why $50,000 to $250,000 is a probable estimate range for most scooter accident cases. Those who end up with permanent disability and lose the ability to work or engage in major life activities may receive over $1,000,000 in compensation. You can also expect higher payouts – 0,000 to several million dollars – in wrongful death lawsuits, which are filed by family members of deceased victims.

A settlement or jury award for scooter accident victims or their loved ones include some or all of the damages listed below:

• Current and future medical costs
• Lost wages and projected value of future lost income
• Property damage
• Pain and suffering for emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, etc.
• Punitive damages if a jury rules that your accident was caused by gross negligence

Now, let’s take a look at the damages that are available to those who are suing for wrongful death. These payouts may include:

• Medical costs up until the date of death
• Funeral expenses
• Loss of earnings and benefits associated with the decedent
• Loss of consortium
• Pain and suffering

Falling off a scooter or being injured in some other way can be a fairly traumatic experience. It’s hard to know what you should do in these situations, but it’s important to think ahead and lay the foundation for a strong legal case. It may turn out that filing a lawsuit is not the right course of action, but what if it is and you fail to take the proper steps to prove that someone else caused you harm and suffering?

We want you to have the possible chance of recovery, and with that in mind, here are the steps we recommend if you were injured by a pothole while riding a Bird or Lime scooter:

• Seek medical attention immediately if you are seriously injured. Don’t hesitate to call 911 or have someone do it for you, as certain injuries can cause death if they are left untreated. You must also establish the injuries you sustained in the accident, which can only be done through medical records.
• If you are physically able to do so, take photos of any injuries and damage to the scooter. Take pictures of the pothole, damage to any vehicle, and anything else that can be used as evidence. It’s better than you do this before the city of whoever else is responsible has a chance to patch up the area and resolve any other conditions that may have caused the accident.
• Try to see if there are surveillance cameras in the area (nearby buildings, traffic lights, parking lots, etc.) that may have footage of the accident.
• Try to gather information from witnesses (if any). If you have their contact information, you or your attorney can always call or email them later and ask for a witness statement.
• Call the police to file an accident report, which can serve as another piece of evidence in case you decide to go ahead with a lawsuit.
• Contact Lime or Bird to report the accident, which you can do through the company’s app or website. We advise that you read over the statement carefully and ensure that you stick to the facts, without any embellishments or unnecessary information. Certain statements can be used against you to deny an injury claim or reduce the amount you are eligible to receive.
• Contact a scooter accident attorney as soon as possible. We recommend that you do this even before you contact the company. It’s in your interests to let a lawyer handle all communications with Bird or Lime and the associated paperwork for an accident claim. Your lawyer will also fight to get you to the highest amount of compensation towards your medical bills and other expenses.

Knowing the deadline for a lawsuit is critical to ensuring that you can obtain compensation after being injured from a pothole. The statute of limitations is normally 2 years in the state of California, starting from the date of injury or death. So, if you are suing a reckless driver or a scooter rental company, like Bird or Lime, this is the timeframe you would need to go by.

On the other hand, you only have 6 months to file a claim against public entities, like Caltrans. This is due to the fact that government agencies have special protections against lawsuits and other legal actions. Essentially, you must submit a claim for damages with supporting evidence no later than 6 months from the accident date or whenever your family member died in a scooter accident. There are no exceptions to the rule, so if you miss the statutory deadline, you lose the right to sue for damages like medical expenses and funeral costs.

Make sure to seek legal advice, no matter who is responsible for the harm you suffered. As we mentioned before, many cases involve shared liability, so you may need to life a government agency claim as well as a personal injury lawsuit. We can help you sort through all these issues and more, so contact us immediately to schedule a free case review.

Other Pages on Our Website Related to This Topic
Long Beach Bird Scooter Injury Attorney
The Ultimate Guide to Scooter Accidents
Lime Scooter Injury Accidents
Bird Scooter Injury Accidents
What to Do After a Bird/Lime Scooter Accident?
Steps to take after scooter accident
Scooter and Moped Accidents
Does Bird Provide Insurance Coverage?
Bird Scooter Injury Lawyer
Lime Scooter Insurance
Average Value of a Lime Scooter Accident
Los Angeles Bird Scooter Injury Attorneys
Los Ageles Lime Scooter Injury Lawyers
Long Beach Bird Scooter Injury Attorney