E-scooters are a popular way to get around suburbs and cities in Texas, but they’re not always the safest form of transportation. Emergency departments are treating more and more scooter operators for crash-related injuries. Determining liability for these e-scooter accidents and injuries can be difficult.
As a victim, your first instinct might be to try to sue manufacturers like Bird or Lime. But can they really be held accountable for accidents involving their e-scooters? It depends. There are limited scenarios in which manufacturers can be liable for accidents. That’s why it’s important to work with an experienced Georgetown scooter accident lawyer after you get hurt.
When Can Manufacturers Be Liable For E-Scooter Accidents?
Bird, Lime, and other e-scooter manufacturers generally won’t be liable for an accident unless the scooter was defective. Further, liability won’t attach unless it can be proven that the scooter’s defect caused the accident and that the operator was using the scooter as intended or in a reasonably foreseeable manner.
In these situations, the scooter manufacturer can be strictly liable for damages. Strict liability means that you don’t have to show that the company was negligent or careless in any way. The fact that the scooter was defective and caused you harm is enough to hold the manufacturer accountable for your medical treatment, lost income, disability, and emotional distress.
An experienced scooter accident attorney can help you establish this link between the product defect and your injuries.
Types of Manufacturing Defects
There are three defects for which a company like Bird or Lime might be liable: design, manufacturing, and marketing (failure to warn).
A scooter would be considered to have a design defect if it were unreasonably unsafe because of a problem with the way it was designed. For instance, some e-scooters have had issues with their batteries exploding or catching on fire. Since the battery is essential to the scooter’s design and concept, the company could be liable for a design defect.
Scooters can suffer from manufacturing defects if something goes wrong when the scooter is assembled or put together. For example, a defect might exist if the wrong-size bolt was used to put the frame together, or if the wrong wires were used in the electrical system.
Bird or Lime could also be liable for a marketing defect if it failed to disclose some non-obvious risk or hazard associated with using the vehicle. The company’s failure to warn can deprive a rider from making decisions about whether or not to use the scooter, and the company can be held accountable if that lack of informed choice results in an injury or wrongful death.
Who Is Liable for Scooter Accidents in Texas?
Scooter manufacturers generally won’t be liable for scooter accidents related to operator or third-party negligence.
In those situations, you can seek compensation from anyone who contributed to the accident, which could include a driver of a passenger vehicle or commercial vehicle, a pedestrian, another scooter operator, a bicyclist, or even the government if it failed to maintain its roads and sidewalks in a safe condition. A dedicated scooter accident lawyer can help you identify all potentially liable parties and insurance policies.
Liability can be established by conducting a thorough investigation, gathering and analyzing evidence, and understanding exactly why and how a scooter accident happened in the first place. When the cause is clear, liability becomes evident, too.
Injured scooter operators in Texas turn to Dow Law Firm for help with these types of challenging cases. Contact our Georgetown scooter accident attorneys at (512) 240-9951 to schedule your free consultation today.