Injured by an E-Scooter – Can You Sue The Manufacturer? | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

December 20, 2019

Blog, Personal Injury

Renting an e-scooter is a popular and affordable option for local travel today. It is also an excellent way to venture out and explore a new city. However, these vehicles come with their own set of risks. Improper design and malfunctioning brakes or other defects could result in serious accidents and injuries, such as bruises, cuts, broken bones, and even concussions.

If you have suffered injuries from an e-scooter accident, you may have a case against the manufacturer or the rental company. It is important to note that e-scooter injury cases require deep research into the probable accident causes and professional examination of the user agreements and other contractual obligations.

Following the Rules

E-scooter riders are required to follow the rules laid down by the city government. You need to make sure that you have followed all the traffic rules if you are looking to file a claim against the e-scooter company for any injuries. Most companies attempt to brush off their responsibility by claiming that you did not follow safe practices or rules.

Filing a Product Liability Claim

You should get in touch with an experienced attorney if you are looking to file a product liability claim against an e-scooter manufacturer or rental. This will allow you to discover the various angles to your case and examine the user agreement in detail. You can file your lawsuit in a civil court if the attorney believes you have sufficient grounds for a claim.

In court, your lawyer will have to prove that the manufacturer or company acted negligently in any one of these ways:

  • Marketing defects: Insufficient warranties, inadequate safety instructions, improper advertising or labeling
  • Design defects: This refers to severe design flaws that renders the product unsafe
  • Manufacturing defects: These defects occur during assembly or manufacturing

You could claim different types of damages, both economic and non-economic, such as:

  • Medical expenses
  • Lost income
  • Pain and suffering
  • Loss of consortium
  • Punitive damages in the event of extremely reckless behavior

Things to Know About E-scooter Class Action Lawsuits

Rental and manufacturing companies dealing in e-scooters are facing several class action and personal injury lawsuits across the United States. The following complaints are commonly filed in these lawsuits:

  • Multiple plaintiffs suffered injuries because of the defendants
  • The defendants negligently dumped their scooters without authorization or notice along public streets
  • The defendants failed in taking proper steps to remove risks and hazards they imposed to general public
  • Reasonable safety standards were not satisfied by the manufacturer’s safety instructions
  • Warranties were breached by the manufacturers when they built scooters unsuitable for repeated public use

Options in a class action notice

You may receive a class action lawsuit notice against the manufacturer if you were recently involved in an e-scooter accident. You have two primary choices in this situation:

Become a class action member

You can decide to be a member to the class action lawsuit. You would have to give up your rights in this case to follow through with a personal injury lawsuit privately.

Become a named plaintiff

You may choose to become a plaintiff in the class action lawsuit with other plaintiffs. You may hire an attorney and become a member to the lawsuit as a named party.

It is important to note that your damages and injuries may not be in sync with other plaintiffs. It is possible that your legal situation is unique. You may want to consider retaining the expert services of a personal injury attorney in such a situation to seek compensation.

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