Posted on Monday, November 5th, 2018 at 2:21 am
Electric scooters or e-scooters are becoming extremely popular in many cities throughout the country, including cities in California. San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Oakland already have e-scooters. However, the trend has not made it to Sacramento. . . Yet. Sacramento is updating rules that would govern the use of e-scooters within the city in anticipation of their arrival to our area sometime in 2019.
What are E-Scooters?
Companies are capitalizing on the popularity of bicycle sharing by creating an e-scooter sharing system. Like bicycling sharing, you pay a small fee to use one of the e-scooters. You travel throughout the city and leave it at your designation for the next rider to use. Companies including Bird, Jump, and Lime have started e- scooters in several cities throughout the United States. The new trend seems to be taking off. However, there have been some problems, including several serious accidents involving e-scooters.
Are E-Scooters Dangerous?
Some opponents of e-scooters on city streets claim that the vehicles can be dangerous, especially when riders are not required to wear helmets or have any training to use the vehicles. Since electric scooters were introduced in Salt Lake City, one hospital reported a 161 percent increase in visits involving these vehicles. A twenty-four-year-old man recently died while using an electric scooter in Dallas. Hospitals in several cities have reported an increase in scooter-related injuries since the e-scooters have come to town.
Common E-Scooter Injuries
Renting an e-scooter is easy. However, navigating the city on an electric scooter can be much more difficult, especially for individuals how have never used an e-scooter. Novices receive a minimum of instruction, if any, about how to use the scooter and safety measures to avoid accidents and injuries. Electric scooters can travel up to 15 mph. An accident at this speed can result in serious injuries to the rider. When the accident involves a vehicle, the injuries can be even more severe.
Injuries Sustained in E-Scooter Accidents
Injuries sustained in e-scooter accidents can range from lacerations and sprains to broken bones and traumatic brain injuries. If a motor vehicle hits a scooter rider, the injuries may be even more severe. The rider has no protection from the impact of the collision. Therefore, injuries in scooter-motor vehicle accidents could result in life-threatening injuries and injuries that result in permanent disabilities.
Regardless of how the electric scooter accident occurs, the result is often life-altering injuries to the victim and the victim’s family. When another party is responsible for the causing the scooter accident, that party may be held liable for the injuries, damages, and losses caused by the accident.
Contact a Sacramento E-Scooter Accident Attorney to Discuss Filing a Claim
As the popularity of electric scooters increases, the laws governing scooters are likely to change. In addition, accidents involving e-scooters may involve one or more areas of law including personal injury law and premises liability laws. An experienced Sacramento e-scooter accident attorney can help you sort out the various issues related to your accident to determine your legal options for filing an injury claim.
For a free consultation, call the personal injury attorneys of Tiemann Law Firm at (916) 999-9000 or visit our website.
