In the last eight months, our Santa Monica personal injury law firm of McGee, Lerer & Associates has received more than 300 calls from scooter accident victims, predominantly riders of Bird and Lime scooters. With so much trouble surrounding electric scooters, it is probably safe to say it is not the time to invest in these companies.
Electric Scooter Accidents On the Rise
You cannot rely on the “reported accidents” number relayed to you by Bird or Lime to get the truth. The figures they provide will not be an accurate indicator of the number of injury claims against the scooter companies. Why? Because most injured riders do not report their accident to the scooter company. When a rider is taken away by ambulance, the last thing on the rider’s mind is reporting the accident to the scooter company. Injured riders sometimes call our law firm after weeks or months since the accident, when they have the time and energy to start a claim. There is a two year statute of limitations on personal injury claims in California, so the scooter company may not know that there is a pending injury claim until two years after the accident.
The vast majority of calls we receive from injured riders involve a malfunction of the scooter, such as:
- Brake failure
- Throttle stick failure
- Baseboard breaks
- Loose or defective handlebars
Lime and Bird whistleblowers have already leaked emails to the media that tell of Lime employees and Bird independent contractors reporting to management their safety concerns about the scooters and the potential for injury. If people connected to these companies are worried, then we all should be concerned.
Recalls on Electric Scooters & Other Complications
Are more electric scooter recalls coming? Lime has already recalled its scooters twice. We fully expect more scooter recalls anytime, though. The failure rate of these devices is too common to think otherwise. In our opinion and the opinion of our experts, the electric scooters have design defects and are inherently dangerous.
You should know that the injuries suffered by electric scooter riders are often severe, possibly resulting in permanent harm. For far too many riders, surgery is often required to try to correct or alleviate the injuries. As a result, the medical bills accrued to treat these life-changing injuries can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. On top of those costs, the injury victim’s lost wages will further harm their financial stability.
Due to vandalism and regular wear and tear, electric scooters have a reported lifespan of only two months. The bottom line is thousands of electric scooter injuries claims are likely on the horizon. Do you really want to invest in a company that is causing catastrophic injuries to its users? We think not.
Would you like to know more about McGee, Lerer & Associates, the firm leading the way in holding electric scooter companies responsible for the harm they are causing throughout California? Please feel free to contact us at any time. If you need trustworthy representation for an injury claim of your own, call (310) 692-9582 to begin.