November 05, 2025
E-Scooter And E-Bike Accidents: New Injuries, Complicated Claims
An e-scooter rider just crashed into you on the sidewalk, or maybe you were riding a rental e-bike when it malfunctioned and threw you to the pavement. These accidents are becoming increasingly common as cities fill with electric micro-mobility devices, but the legal framework for handling injury claims hasn’t caught up with the technology.
E-scooter and e-bike accidents create unique liability questions because multiple parties might share responsibility, insurance coverage is often unclear, and laws governing these devices vary widely by jurisdiction. Our friends at Blaszkow Legal, PLLC discuss how the rapid adoption of micro-mobility has outpaced safety regulations and legal standards. A bicycle accident lawyer handling these emerging cases must understand how traditional personal injury law applies to new transportation technologies and who bears responsibility when accidents occur.
The Micro-Mobility Explosion And Rising Injuries
Electric scooters and bikes have transformed urban transportation in just a few years. Rental companies like Lime, Bird, and Spin deployed thousands of devices across cities, while personal ownership of e-bikes and e-scooters has surged among commuters seeking alternatives to cars.
This growth brought a corresponding increase in injuries. According to Consumer Product Safety Commission data, e-scooter and e-bike injuries requiring emergency room treatment have risen dramatically. Riders suffer head injuries, broken bones, and road rash. Pedestrians get struck by riders on sidewalks. Drivers hit riders who dart into traffic.
The injury patterns differ from traditional bicycle accidents. E-scooters and e-bikes travel faster than human-powered bikes, sometimes reaching 20 to 30 mph. They’re often ridden by people with minimal experience who rent devices impulsively without understanding how to operate them safely. The combination of higher speeds and inexperienced riders creates serious accident risks.
Who’s Liable In E-Scooter And E-Bike Accidents
Determining liability requires examining how the accident happened and identifying all parties who contributed to causing it.
The Rider
E-scooter and e-bike riders who operate recklessly, violate traffic laws, or collide with pedestrians or vehicles bear personal liability for resulting injuries. If a rider hit you while speeding on a sidewalk where riding is prohibited, they’re liable for your damages.
The challenge is that many riders don’t carry liability insurance. Personal auto policies typically don’t cover e-scooter or e-bike accidents. Homeowner’s or renter’s insurance might provide some liability coverage, but policies increasingly exclude motorized vehicles. Recovering compensation from uninsured riders with limited assets becomes difficult.
Rental Companies
Companies like Lime, Bird, Uber, and Lyft that operate rental e-scooter and e-bike programs might face liability in certain circumstances. They typically require users to agree to terms of service that include liability waivers and arbitration clauses, but these agreements don’t always prevent injury claims.
Rental companies can be liable for:
- Mechanical failures or defects in their devices
- Inadequate maintenance that causes malfunctions
- Failure to warn users about device limitations or proper operation
- Placing devices in dangerous locations
- Not enforcing helmet requirements or safety standards
Most rental companies carry liability insurance, though they fight vigorously to avoid responsibility by pointing to user agreements and arguing riders bear sole responsibility for how they operate the devices.
Device Manufacturers
Product liability claims arise when e-scooters or e-bikes have design defects, manufacturing defects, or inadequate warnings. Brakes that fail, batteries that catch fire, accelerators that stick, or frames that collapse unexpectedly make manufacturers liable.
These claims proceed under product liability theories rather than negligence. You must prove the device was defective and unreasonably dangerous, that the defect caused your injuries, and that you were using the device as intended.
Manufacturers include both the companies whose brands appear on devices and the actual manufacturers who produce them, often overseas. Identifying the proper defendants and serving foreign manufacturers with lawsuits complicates these cases.
Property Owners and Municipalities
Property owners whose sidewalks, parking lots, or private property have dangerous conditions that cause e-scooter or e-bike crashes might face premises liability claims. Potholes, debris, poor lighting, or other hazards that cause riders to lose control create potential owner responsibility.
Cities and municipalities face claims when poor road conditions, inadequate signage, or dangerous infrastructure contributes to accidents. Bicycle lane design that forces riders into dangerous positions, missing traffic signals, or road defects can make governments liable, subject to sovereign immunity limitations.
Insurance Coverage Gaps
One of the biggest problems with e-scooter and e-bike accident claims is figuring out what insurance, if any, covers the damages. Traditional insurance products weren’t designed for these devices.
Personal Auto Insurance
Standard auto policies typically exclude coverage for motorized two-wheeled vehicles. If you’re riding your own e-scooter or e-bike and cause an accident, your auto insurance probably won’t defend you or pay the claim.
Similarly, if you’re injured by an e-scooter or e-bike rider, your uninsured motorist coverage under your auto policy might not apply because these devices don’t qualify as “motor vehicles” under most policy definitions.
Homeowner’s and Renter’s Insurance
These policies sometimes provide liability coverage for e-scooter and e-bike accidents, but insurers are increasingly adding exclusions. Some policies cover low-speed electric bikes but exclude faster models or scooters entirely.
If you own an e-bike or e-scooter, review your homeowner’s or renter’s policy to understand whether you have liability protection. If not, consider purchasing separate micro-mobility insurance that some companies now offer.
Rental Company Coverage
Rental companies like Lime and Bird maintain liability insurance policies, but access to this coverage depends on contract terms and specific circumstances. Their user agreements typically state that riders assume all risk and release the company from liability for injuries.
These releases might not hold up when company negligence contributed to the accident, such as deploying devices with known mechanical problems or failing to maintain equipment properly. But you’ll need to prove company fault beyond just the fact that you got hurt while using their device.
Common E-Scooter And E-Bike Injuries
The types of injuries from micro-mobility accidents tend to be more severe than traditional bicycle injuries because of higher speeds and device characteristics.
Head Injuries and Traumatic Brain Injuries
Most e-scooter and e-bike riders don’t wear helmets. When accidents occur at 20 mph, head injuries are common and often severe. Traumatic brain injuries, skull fractures, and concussions represent a significant portion of serious e-scooter injuries.
Helmet laws vary by jurisdiction, and even where helmets are required, enforcement is minimal. Rental companies encourage but don’t typically require helmet use.
Orthopedic Injuries
Broken wrists, arms, collarbones, and facial bones occur when riders instinctively put their hands out to break falls. Leg and ankle fractures happen when riders lose control or collide with vehicles.
These devices offer little protection during crashes. Unlike motorcycles with protective frames, e-scooters and e-bikes leave riders completely exposed to impact forces.
Road Rash and Soft Tissue Injuries
Sliding across pavement at high speeds causes severe road rash requiring skin grafts in serious cases. Soft tissue injuries to shoulders, knees, and hips are common as riders tumble during crashes.
Regulatory Confusion Affecting Claims
Laws governing e-scooters and e-bikes vary dramatically by state and city. Some jurisdictions ban them entirely. Others allow them with restrictions. Still others have no specific regulations, creating legal grey areas.
This regulatory patchwork affects liability. If a city allows e-scooters on sidewalks and a rider hits you there, proving negligence becomes harder than in cities where sidewalk riding is prohibited. Where devices are banned altogether, riders who cause accidents clearly violate law, strengthening liability claims.
Conflicting regulations create confusion about where devices can be ridden, how fast they can go, age requirements, and helmet rules. Riders often don’t know which laws apply, and enforcement is inconsistent.
User Agreement Arbitration Clauses
Most rental company apps require agreeing to terms of service before use. These agreements typically include mandatory arbitration clauses that prevent you from suing in court and joining class actions.
Courts have upheld many of these arbitration requirements, forcing injury claims into private arbitration forums rather than public courts. Arbitration can limit discovery, restrict appeals, and favor companies over individual claimants.
However, arbitration clauses have limitations. They might not bind injured third parties who weren’t app users. If a rental e-scooter rider hit you while you were walking, you never agreed to arbitration and can pursue normal court litigation.
Additionally, some state laws limit enforceability of pre-injury liability waivers and arbitration clauses, particularly when companies control essential services or when gross negligence is involved.
Proving Liability In Micro-Mobility Cases
Building strong e-scooter or e-bike injury claims requires specific evidence documenting what happened and why.
Accident Scene Documentation
Photograph the device involved, showing its condition and any damage. Document the exact location, road or sidewalk conditions, traffic controls, and visibility factors. Note whether the device was a rental or personally owned, and record identifying information.
Get contact information from witnesses who saw the accident. Their statements about speed, direction, and circumstances become important when disputed facts arise.
Device Records
Rental companies track device data including speed, location, battery status, and maintenance history. Obtaining this data through litigation can prove mechanical failures, speed violations, or company knowledge of device problems.
Your attorney can subpoena these records, but rental companies fight disclosure claiming proprietary business information. Preserving evidence early through formal demands prevents companies from deleting or losing data.
Medical Documentation
Seek immediate medical treatment and clearly explain to providers that your injuries resulted from an e-scooter or e-bike accident. The mechanism of injury matters for treatment and for establishing claim causation.
The Future Of Micro-Mobility Litigation
As e-scooters and e-bikes become permanent fixtures in urban transportation, legal standards will evolve. More jurisdictions are enacting specific regulations. Insurance products are being developed. Courts are interpreting existing laws to address new technologies.
Early cases are establishing precedents about rental company liability, insurance coverage applications, and premises liability when micro-mobility devices are involved. These developing legal principles will shape how future claims are handled.
E-scooter and e-bike accidents present unique challenges because the legal framework governing these relatively new transportation modes is still developing, insurance coverage is often unclear or nonexistent, and multiple parties from riders to rental companies to manufacturers and municipalities might share responsibility. Understanding these emerging liability issues, documenting accidents thoroughly, and identifying all potential sources of compensation helps injured victims recover fair compensation despite the added difficulty of pursuing claims involving technologies that didn’t exist when most personal injury laws were written.
