If you were injured in an Orlando, FL, e-scooter accident, talk to a lawyer to review your potential legal options.
As electric scooter (e-scooter) usage has soared across the country, so have concerns about e-scooter safety and electric scooter accidents. That's why some road safety officials believe more needs to be done to prevent e-scooter accidents.
"Everyone deserves to feel safe on the road, and we must do more to prioritize safety for this growing mode of travel," Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), said in a statement published by Forbes about e-scooter accident safety.
Any steps designed to prevent electric scooter accidents are welcome news. We know because the legal team at the Cerasa Law Firm has worked with people seriously injured in electric scooter accidents in the Orlando area—and we've seen the devastations such accidents can cause.
Electric scooter accidents soar higher
A total of 158 cities – including Orlando, FL – have e-scooter systems this year compared to 87 cities nationwide in 2019, according to a recent Forbes article, which cited a Transportation Research Board (TRB) study.
With more people using electric scooters, accidents involving these skateboard-like devices with waist-high handlebars have skyrocketed. For example, e-scooter accident injuries increased by 127 percent between 2017 and 2021, according to a recent News 4 JAX report based on a Consumer Product Safety Commission study.
Those e-scooter accidents resulted in 117,600 emergency room visits and 68 e-scooter accident fatalities. In one year alone, electric scooter injuries that required emergency medical treatment increased by 66 percent from 2020 to 2021, when there were 42,200 e-scooter injuries alone, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission report.
Why do e-scooter accidents happen?
The TRB study identified several common causes of e-scooter accidents. These include:
- People on scooters getting hit by cars. This happens for many reasons, but often, it's because the at-fault driver was speeding, texting, distracted, under the influence, or driving negligently.
- Drivers who are unfamiliar with electric scooters and don't share the road. This is no excuse, but some drivers fail to recognize that more people are riding e-scooters, and they need to watch for them just like pedestrians and bicyclists.
- Mechanical problems with scooters, including defective brakes or poor steering. Any mechanical defect can result in a catastrophic e-scooter accident that throws the rider off the scooter or forces them to crash the scooter to avoid a collision.
- E-scooter riders jump off of or crash a scooter to avoid a collision. As mentioned above, some riders are forced to jump off a scooter or crash it to avoid getting hit by a car.
- Collisions involving e-scooters and pedestrians or bicyclists. Everyone has a responsibility to share the road and avoid causing crashes.
Common e-scooter accident injuries
Electric scooter accident injuries cover a wide range, including:
- Concussions and other types of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Broken arms or bone fractures in the hands or fingers, especially if the e-scooter rider tries to break their fall with their hands.
- Broken legs, especially if an e-scooter rider is hit by a car.
How e-scooter accidents could be prevented
The TRB study offered several recommendations for preventing electric scooter accidents, including:
- Educating drivers about how to share the road safely with e-scooters.
- Improved road infrastructure designed to create safe travel lanes for e-scooters.
- Tough enforcement by police involving drivers who break traffic laws and put e-scooter riders at risk.
- Installing better road signage designed to warn drivers about e-scooters and tell riders which routes are the safest.
- Improved data collection about why e-scooter accidents happen.
How an Orlando electric scooter accident attorney can help
E-scooter injury accidents can be highly complex. Sometimes it's because the at-fault driver insists that they did nothing wrong. Other times, it's because an e-scooter company (Lime and Bird, for example) might be difficult to deal with, especially if the electric scooter accident occurred due to a mechanical defect or as a result of poor maintenance.
Whatever the circumstances, it's critical that you have an experienced legal team on your side to protect your rights and advocate for your best interests. At the Cerasa Law Firm, we know how the Florida civil justice works and how to build a rock-solid legal case based on the facts. That's why we have a strong track record of achieving meaningful results for our clients.
Discover what we can do for you. Contact us and schedule a free consultation to see how an experienced Orlando e-scooter accident attorney can help with your claim. There are no obligations, and we handle cases on a contingency fee basis. That means you pay no fees unless we win your case.