There’s a reason all the nurses in the Harborview emergency department wear shirts that say “Anti-Scooter Club”—with over 160 severe injuries seen in Harborview alone in 2024 (many of them head injuries), these convenient vehicles are also turning out to be extremely dangerous.
However, anyone who’s lived in Seattle for any length of time knows that electric scooter use is skyrocketing—they’re not going away anytime soon.
These scooters might be convenient, but they’re also incredibly risky, and not just for riders—pedestrians and cyclists are also in danger, and drivers now have a new additional worry to add to their list when they hit the streets.
In this article, you’ll learn about the types of injuries that are most common from electric scooters, the laws around e-scooters, how insurance works for these vehicles, and what you can do if you’re injured in an accident involving an e-scooter.
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Electric Scooter Laws
First things first—electric scooters are legal to ride in Seattle, whether you own them yourself or you’ve rented them through a rental company. You have to be at least 16 years old to operate one, and you don’t have to have a driver’s license to do so.
However, many rental companies require you to be 18 or older to rent and ride their e-scooters.
While Washington state law doesn’t require you to wear a helmet while riding an e-scooter (and neither does King County), other cities and counties do. For obvious reasons, wearing a helmet is a really good idea no matter what, but make sure to check your local laws to see what’s required.
From a legal standpoint, e-scooters are treated very similarly to bicycles, which means they can basically go anywhere a bicycle or moped can go (which is most roads and bike lanes with speed limits up to 25 miles per hour, but not highways). They also can’t go on sidewalks in most cases, though there are a few exceptions.
They have a required top speed—their “operational speed” (the top speed an operator can reach without the help of gravity) is 15 miles per hour. Their total top speed is limited to 20 miles per hour.
While the e-scooters available for rent usually meet this requirement, private e-scooters can often go much faster, with some hitting 40 miles per hour or more.
To operate legally, e-scooters are required to have reflectors and lighting for low-visibility conditions.
Types of Injuries from Electric Scooters
While electric scooters might seem, on the surface, to be safer than some other modes of transportation, the reality is that e-scooter injury rates are hundreds of times higher than car and truck rates.
However, they’re likely just about as dangerous to ride as a motorcycle or bicycle—there is no conclusive evidence to show that they’re better or worse compared to these other modes of transportation.
Many of them are self-inflicted—a recent study by Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center found that 87% of all injuries on e-scooters were the result of falls.
That same study found that only about 24% of those injured were drinking or using drugs at the time, which suggests that the e-scooters themselves are dangerous (as opposed to simply being dangerous to operate while under the influence).
The majority of patients weren’t wearing helmets (75%), and a whopping 41% of all patients had a head or neck injury (about 13% of all injuries were traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs).
While wearing a helmet is always a good idea, there wasn’t a huge difference between patients who took this precaution and patients who didn’t—52% of unhelmeted patients had a head or neck injury compared to almost 44% of helmeted patients. A study by the Seattle Department of Transportation found that 70% of e-scooter riders never or almost never wore a helmet.
The reason for the high number of head and neck injuries (whether riders were wearing a helmet or not) is simple: when you’re on an e-scooter, your center of gravity is much higher than on other vehicles, even motorcycles. Hitting a small pothole can be enough to launch you into the air, often head first.
All of this points to one clear conclusion: e-scooters are dangerous, and even someone who is sober and wearing a helmet can still be severely injured if they’re involved in an accident—even if that accident isn’t with a car, truck, or pedestrian.
Alarmingly, these vehicles might not even be safe if they’re simply parked with no rider—there have been numerous reports of e-scooter batteries igniting or exploding and causing major fires. New York saw over 200 fires caused by these vehicles in 2022 alone.
The Symptoms of a TBI from an E-Scooter Injury
Not all head injuries result in a TBI, but if you’ve been in an accident involving an e-scooter and hit your head, your first step is to go to the hospital—head injuries of any sort are not something to take lightly.
Here are some of the most common TBI symptoms to watch for:
- Dizziness
- Recurring headaches
- Nausea
- Partial or temporary memory loss
- Seizures
- Loss of coordination
- Light sensitivity
- Altered sleep patterns
- Vomiting
- Cloudy or blurry vision
While you may experience these symptoms right away, they might also develop over time. Research suggests that it’s possible for TBI symptoms to take months to show up.
You’ll also want to ask your healthcare provider for more than a traditional MRI or CT scan. Many brain injuries don’t have obvious damage that you can see on these types of images—you need specialized imaging, like diffuse tensor imaging (DTI) or qualitative electroencephalography.
While the thought of high medical bills for specialized tests—especially when you’re not experiencing symptoms or they’re very mild—can be understandably overwhelming, we believe it’s worth the time and cost. First, and most importantly, this might be the only way for your healthcare providers to be able to treat you properly.
Second, these costs can potentially be recouped if another party is at fault. If normal imaging doesn’t show any brain trauma, this might be the only way to prove that you have a TBI and hold another party accountable for your e-scooter accident.
Are Riders of E-Scooters Covered by Insurance?
Unlike cars, trucks, and motorcycles, e-scooters don’t have mandatory insurance requirements. On top of that, if you’re riding one of the popular rentable e-scooters, you’ve likely signed a user agreement that protects the company from liability.
While it’s possible to sue these companies (or the manufacturers) if the e-scooter you were riding is defective or malfunctions and causes your accident (or bursts into flames), simply hitting a stationary object or falling off is usually not enough for a lawsuit against these companies (thanks to those agreements).
If you were riding carelessly or negligently—for example, if you’d been drinking that day, were speeding, or weren’t wearing a helmet—that can be enough for these companies to deny your claim.
Even hitting a pothole can be enough for these companies to try to deflect blame onto the city or county. However, keep in mind that every situation is different and needs to be considered carefully on its own merits and under its own unique set of circumstances.
Unfortunately, even if you took plenty of precautions, you still might not be able to sue these companies thanks to that user agreement. However, if there’s a clear defect in the e-scooter itself, you may have grounds for a case.
What if Someone on an Electric Scooter Hits You?
If someone riding an e-scooter hits you or your vehicle, while you may have a case if they were at fault for the accident, they likely won’t be covered by auto insurance. Nevertheless, it’s possible that other insurance policies would come into play, like homeowner’s or renter’s insurance.
It’s also possible in some cases to sue individuals who don’t have insurance but can afford to pay a settlement from their personal finances, but every case is different, and it may not be worthwhile to file a lawsuit in these cases.
What If a Motor Vehicle Hits You While You’re on an E-Scooter?
As with these other examples, if you’re at fault for the accident, this will likely affect your ability to seek compensation. However, generally speaking, the motor vehicle driver’s insurance will come into play (assuming that they’re properly insured).
If your head is spinning from all these examples and possibilities, we understand! These types of accidents can be extremely complex, both in terms of your injuries and in terms of figuring out who is at fault.
Fortunately, it’s not your job to figure all of that out—it’s ours.
How We Can Help
If you’ve been injured in an e-scooter accident—and especially if you’ve had a traumatic brain injury or head injury—we can help.
Click here to contact us today and schedule a free consultation. We’ll talk about your accident, the injuries you’re struggling with, and how we can help.
