Electric scooters have taken many city streets by storm in recent months, including right here in Dallas. You may have noticed this new wave of motorized scooters on the city streets over the last six months, as companies like Bird and Lime have descended upon the city. While these zippy motorized scooters are undoubtedly a fun mode of transportation, they come with inherent risks.
Essentially, the Bird and Lime scooters are electric scooters that can be rented using an app on your smartphone. The user pays per minute to use the scooter and can leave the scooter on the ground or at a charging station when he or she arrives at their destination. The app shows where available scooters are located throughout the city, allowing the next person to rent the scooter nearest to them. One of the most important things to keep in mind is that these scooters are actually quite fast, reaching more than 15 mph. The downside is that these scooters can actually be quite dangerous. Not only are cities like Dallas struggling to regulate them, but they have resulted in numerous injuries and even death.
Electric Scooters Turn Deadly
Just a few short months after the scooters were introduced to Dallas, a man was found dead after using a Lime scooter. According to authorities, Jacoby Stoneking was found dead after a scooter accident, but the circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear. Stoneking had called a friend saying he hurt his foot after falling off the scooter and asked his friend to call a Lyft for him. When the Lyft driver arrived at Stoneking’s destination, she found him dead next to a ‘disintegrated’ scooter. As of now, we do not know whether he was struck by a vehicle after the accident, or if his initial injury was more severe than he had conveyed to his friend. All we know is that a Lime scooter was involved in some capacity.
Common Electric Scooter Injuries
While current statistics show that zero people have died from electric scooters, the above Dallas case shows us otherwise. There have been numerous injuries reported across Texas and the rest of the country from electric scooters including a woman in Austin who was left with a broken leg, broken wrist, and fractures in her spine and skull. Let’s now take a look at some of the most common injuries linked to Bird and Lime scooters:
- Head and traumatic brain injuries
- Facial injuries
- Road rash
- Laceration and bruising injuries
- Internal injuries
- Crush injuries
- Amputation injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Soft tissue injuries
Electric scooters can result in extensive medical costs and even loss of income due to the inability to work. While they may seem like a convenient mode of transportation, we are seeing just how dangerous they can be. Cities across the country are fighting back in an effort to regulate electric scooters and ensure the safety of users, however, we expect to see an increase in the number of accidents as they come to more cities. If you have been injured in an electric scooter accident, please contact the scooter injury lawyers at Shamieh Law today.
