A scooter can be a great option for transportation around a crowded city, and with the rapid expansions of companies like Lime and Bird, more options become available everyday. While these modes of transportation can be extremely liberating and relatively low cost, there are many risks involved with their use that you should be aware of. Luckily, if you are injured in a scooter accident, there are lawyers available to help you to get the compensation that you deserve.
1-800-Injured provides victims of scooter accidents with access to attorneys in their area who are ready to take on their cases today. If you’re injured in an accident, you can be nearly certain that when you file a claim with the insurance company, they will attempt to poke holes in your story, find fault wherever possible, and ultimately leverage the fact that electric scooter accidents are fairly new—as opposed to car accidents, motorcycle accidents, and other types of crashes—so that they can convince you to accept a smaller settlement. When you are working with an attorney, you have an experienced partner throughout this process.
Read more below about scooter accidents and personal injury claims, and contact 1-800-Injured now to get connected with an attorney today.
Types Of Electric Scooter Accidents
As with any type of accident or personal injury, there are many different ways that someone can cause an accident involving an electric scooter. Since these transportation methods are fairly new, cities are scrambling to catch up with the rise in scooters to enact rules and regulations that protect scooter riders and others from injury.
Distracted Driver Accidents
Distracted driving is a growing epidemic across the United States, and scooter riders are at risk of being hurt by these drivers just as much as anyone else sharing the road with them. When someone is looking at their phone, eating, applying makeup, or anything else that takes their eyes or mind off the road (or hands off the wheel), they have a limited reaction time and an increased possibility of not seeing someone on a scooter.
Poorly Marked Lanes
Many cities in the country have continuously failed to provide safe and well-marked lanes for bikes and all other alternative transportation methods, including scooters. These lanes are meant to clearly show drivers and riders how to use the areas provided, and when markings are faded or non-existent, it can lead to confusion and mistakes that lead to an accident.
Right of Way Errors
As with poorly marked lanes, there are a number of other reasons that a driver or scooter rider can be confused about who has the right of way across an intersection, crosswalk, left turn, and any other number of traffic situations where a scooter rider and driver need to decide how to proceed. If you are in an accident involving questions of the right of way, keep quiet about the cause until you are speaking with either the police officer at the scene of the accident or to your lawyer. Never make any statements that could allude to you being responsible.
Aggressive Drivers
Aggressive driving includes things like speeding, swerving to intimidate other drivers (or scooter riders), cutting people off, “brake checking” other drivers or riders, and a number of other aggressive and intimidating behaviors. Whether or not the driver intends to hit someone with their vehicle while engaging in these behaviors, it is all too common and extremely dangerous, especially when the victim is riding a bike or scooter with minimal protection.
Common Electric Scooter Injuries
A scooter does not provide a rider with any protection during an accident, meaning that it is up to the rider to wear protective gear such as a helmet, wrist protection, and more. The following injuries are some of the most common that scooter riders sustain, but there are many more ways that a rider can be hurt in an accident.
Road Rash
Road rash is the non-technical term for abrasions or burns to the skin from sliding over the pavement after a crash. Serious road rash can lead to infections, permanent scarring, and other complications if left untreated – make sure that a doctor treats you for your injury.
Fractures
During a collision, the victim often suffers impact injuries such as fractures. Scooter riders can suffer wrist fractures, arm and leg fractures, and a variety of other broken bones that will require immediate medical treatment.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
The likelihood of a scooter rider hitting their head on the ground, car, or another object during an accident is high, and in many cases may suffer a traumatic brain injury like a concussion. Concussions can lead to serious issues, so it is important that you work with a doctor to ensure that you take the appropriate steps towards a successful recovery.
Bruising
Bruising happens when the blood vessels near the surface of the skin are broken from an impact, and result in painful, often swollen areas of discoloration. Most bruising will clear on its own, but some may require medical treatments – or may indicate a different injury altogether.
How To File An Electric Scooter Accident Claim
After you have determined who is liable for your electric scooter accident, you will then file a claim with the responsible party’s insurance company to initiate a claim. You will have a claims adjuster assigned to your case who will investigate all of the relevant details of your accident, including the accident report, eyewitness accounts, medical records, financial impacts, and more. The insurance company will then issue an offer to you for a one-time payment nowhere near what you are actually owed – in exchange for waiving your rights to any additional legal action.
Hire an Attorney BEFORE Filing Your Claim
Instead of initiating your insurance claim on your own, contact an attorney beforehand so that they can help guide you through this process. From the moment the insurance company learns about your accident, they focus almost entirely on how to pay you as little as possible while resolving their legal issues. While you are trying to recover from your injuries, your attorney can handle all communications with the insurance company to ensure that your words will not be used against you with technicalities or misstatements. Insurance legalese is confusing – by design – and meant to hurry you through to a settlement.
Contact 1-800-Injured today to be connected with an experienced scooter accident attorney today to learn more about your legal options. During your initial consultation, you will be able to discuss your accident in specific detail with a knowledgeable legal professional and understand how you can move forward with help.
Seeking Compensation After a Scooter Accident Claim
As with any personal injury, if you are the victim of someone else’s recklessness or negligence on the road, then you deserve compensation. As electric scooters rise to prominence in many major cities across the United States, lawmakers and city planners are scrambling to keep up with the new rules and regulations that they will need to put into place to ensure that scooter riders are granted protection, much like cyclists and pedestrians. In the meantime, there will almost certainly be some legal gray areas that your attorney will need to clarify in order to successfully argue your case.
The biggest difference between a scooter accident and a car accident (from a purely legal perspective) is determining who is at fault since there is considerably more precedent for car accidents than electric scooter accidents. That said, an experienced attorney will be able to build a strong argument on your behalf. The next step will be to determine the amount of money that you are rightfully owed.
Economic Damages After a Scooter Accident
Economic damages are the foundation of an insurance claim and include things like the cost of your medical treatment and any lost wages that you may suffer. Insurance companies are typically more amenable to agreeing on these types of damages than non-economic damages because they are much simpler to quantify. However, there are plenty of line items that the insurance company will almost certainly push back on.
Non-Economic Damages After a Scooter Accident
Non-economic damages seek compensation for those aspects of an accident that do not come with a price tag: things such as the actual pain and suffering that you have to endure, your emotional state following your accident, and the impacts on your quality of life. Insurance companies will push back on these damages aggressively, simply because they are more difficult to calculate, but your attorney will fight for a fair settlement.
If you’ve been injured in a scooter accident, 1-800-Injured is an attorney and medical referral service that can connect you with an attorney in your area.