E-Scooter Rentals Accelerate And So Do Accidents

It only takes a minute and a smartphone to rent one of the thousands of electric scooters stationed all around the bustling streets in South Florida’s cities. E-scooter pilot programs started back in 2015, seeing a large increase in 2018, and now have risen to encompass about 7,000 riders per day, generating millions of dollars in revenue for participating cities.

What can be a mass-transit solution for cutting down vehicle traffic and vehicle pollution can also come with hundreds of e-scooter-related accidents. If you or a loved one has been injured in an e-scooter-related accident, contact the Miami personal injury attorneys at Colson Hicks Eidson.

The rise of the scooter

Across America, tens of thousands of injuries have been attributed to e-scooters and more than 3.000 people have suffered injuries that have resulted in hospitalizations over the last five years. Researchers from the University of California-San Francisco collected this data from U.S. emergency departments and recently published it by the American Medical Association.

The data shows the link between the increase of injuries with the spread of cities creating traffic programs including e-scooters. Between 2014 and 2018, almost 40,000 people were hurt while riding e-scooters. These numbers spike dramatically from around 8,000 injuries in 2017 to more than 14,000 in 2018 when more American cities started approving e-scooter rentals.

During this period, Miami had more than a half-million e-scooters zipping around the streets. There were also 129 accidents involving e-scooters in Miami and Fort Lauderdale during this period in 2018. Emergency rooms in Fort Lauderdale and Miami saw more than 90 people after e-scooter accidents, and a 27-year-old man died after he was struck by a car while riding in Fort Lauderdale.

Since this data was released, Consumer Reports reported eight deaths have been attributed to e-scooter usage between the fall of 2017 and June 2019.

Most e-scooter companies do not allow minors to rent the scooters, but it does happen quite often, and in most cases, helmets or safety equipment are not required. Riders often underestimate how dangerous riding a scooter can be.

Paramedics report the most serious accidents to involve e-scooters being hit by vehicles, and emergency room doctors report that the most common injuries they see are:

• Lacerations
• Broken bones
• Internal organ damage
• The spinal cord as well as neck and back injuries
• Head trauma

When to contact a personal injury attorney

Six of the most popular e-scooter rental companies operating in Miami include:

• Bird
• Bolt
• Jump
• Lime
• Lyft
• Spin

They can be a fun way to sightsee or a convenient alternative to cars for a quick commute. But they can also be the cause of accidents, resulting in severe injuries.

If you or a loved one has been involved in an e-scooter accident and need someone to investigate your case and secure the compensation that you are entitled to, why not have the award-winning Miami e-scooter accident attorneys at Colson Hicks Eidson on this ride with you. Contact us for a free consultation by clicking here or by calling us at 305-476-7400.