I Was Injured Riding a Rentable Scooter—Now What?

If you’ve strolled around the downtown area of just about any large city in America, Cleveland included, chances are you’ve seen rentable electric scooters proliferating like pigeons. No surprise—they’re easy to rent with a smartphone app, inexpensive, convenient, and even environmentally friendly.

However, they can also be dangerous. Tens of thousands of riders have received cuts, bruises, broken bones, or even serious head injuries, and at least 29 people have died in electric scooter accidents over the past few years.

There are several reasons for the prevalence of scooter accidents, including:

• Lack of helmets—Many riders neglect or refuse to wear helmets.
• Inexperience—Let’s face it, most of us are inexperienced scooter operators.
• Poor sidewalk and road conditions—This is especially dangerous for inexperienced riders.
• Heavy traffic—Traffic can be dangerous even for experienced riders.
• Pedestrians—Scooter riders and pedestrians have an uneasy and sometimes adversarial relationship.
• Defective or poorly maintained scooters—Rentable scooters are used hard and often abused, and not all scooter rental companies are able to keep up with maintenance.

If you’ve been injured while riding a rentable electric scooter, here are the steps to take:

First, seek medical attention

If you are injured, whether the injuries are severe or not, seek immediate medical attention. Call 9-1-1 if necessary, or have someone else call if you’re not able. Even if your injuries are minor, get them checked out. Should legal action be warranted, you’ll want those injuries documented.

Report the accident

Particularly if another person, a vehicle, or property damage is involved, report the accident to the police, and remain on the scene until they arrive. It’s important that you have a police report documenting what happened.

While you’re waiting for the police to arrive…

If you’re physically able too, take photos of the accident scene, talk to any witnesses, collect their contact information. Write down anything at all you think is important, including the serial number of the scooter. Every rentable electric scooter has a serial number. Make a note of the number. This is especially important if you think the scooter itself was the cause of the accident.

Contact an experienced lawyer

If another driver, a pedestrian, a poorly maintained public area, or the scooter itself, was the cause of the accident, and you think legal action might be warranted, contact a lawyer experienced with personal injury cases in general, and with rentable scooter cases specifically. When it comes to these types of cases, experience matters.

If you or a loved one was injured riding a rentable scooter, contact the attorneys at LaSalvia Law. We will fight to win you the compensation you deserve.