E-scooters are one of the latest trends for rentable transportation, like an electric scooter rideshare system. Here in Chicago, you can find rentable e-scooters from multiple companies, including Bird, Lime, and Wheels. You can also find plenty of e-scooter accident reports, sometimes involving serious or life-changing injuries.
As e-scooters grow in popularity, the chances of an e-scooter accident increase, too. E-scooter companies offer little to no training opportunities to renters, effectively letting people rent a motorized piece of equipment without bothering to see if they can safely operate it at all. Does this mean that e-scooter companies are always liable for e-scooter accidents? Not necessarily. The details of a crash will always influence liability.
5 At-Fault Parties in E-Scooter Accidents
Most e-scooter accidents can be traced back to the mistakes of one or more of the following parties:
- Riders: If you were hit by an e-scooter rider, then you can probably file a claim directly against that rider. Everyone who rents an e-scooter has a responsibility to pay attention to where they are going and give pedestrians the right-of-way when safe to do so.
- Motorists: When an e-scooter rider is struck by a larger vehicle, the driver of that vehicle could be at-fault for the collision. Motorists need to yield to e-scooter riders as they would a bicyclist or pedestrian.
- E-scooter company: Many e-scooter accident claims are filed against the company that made and rented out the e-scooter. As mentioned, people can rent an e-scooter without any training – or even without a helmet! E-scooter companies need to take accountability for allowing people to put themselves in dangerous situations while trying to use their products.
- Pedestrians: There have been e-scooter accidents between a rider and a pedestrian in which the latter was at fault. In some cities, pedestrians are notorious for opening shop doors into the sidewalk without checking if any bicyclists or other people are approaching. The same issue can catch an e-scooter off-guard and cause them to collide into the door, suffering major injuries.
- Municipal entity: A city, county, or other municipal entity can be at-fault for an e-scooter accident if a defect into the road or sidewalk caused the crash. For example, if you were riding an e-scooter in the park when a lifted slab of concrete caught the e-scooter’s wheel and bucked you over the handlebars, then you could possibly bring a claim against the public entity in charge of maintaining that park.
Do you need help figuring out who is at-fault for your e-scooter accident in Chicago? McNabola & Associates, LLC would be happy to help. Call our law firm at (312) 888-8700 and speak with one of our attorneys about what happened today during a free consultation.
