Kansas City E-Scooter Accident Lawyer

E-scooters are now a common sight on Kansas City streets, zipping along the sides of urban roadways and in bicycle lanes. Kansas City drivers and pedestrians alike have become aware of the growing presence of electronic scooters but may remain unaware of the hidden dangers of this newcomer to Kansas City traffic until after they’ve experienced an accident involving an e-scooter. An e-scooter isn’t a car, bike, motorcycle, or pedestrian, making it difficult for an injury victim to know their rights after an accident, including who is liable and how to recover compensation for their serious injuries. A Kansas City electric scooter accident lawyer can help identify the liable party and assert your right to fair compensation for your damages. Call Miller & Hine for a free evaluation of your case.

Why Choose Miller & Hine as Your E-Scooter Accident Attorneys in Kansas City?

Recovering compensation after an e-scooter is often challenging, with questions about liability and responsibility remaining common problems in claims due to the relative newness of this type of micro-mobility device and its sudden boom in popularity. The attorneys at Miller & Hine have experience in these claims and offer the following advantages to your e-scooter injury case:

• We are an accomplished law firm with Kansas City personal injury attorneys who’ve earned the respect of our peers in the legal community and with insurance adjusters who know we mean business when protecting our clients
• Over 50 years of combined experience in a team of skilled attorneys ready to put their best efforts and resources behind your claim
• The dedicated attention of the attorney working on your case with a results-oriented approach that tailors a strategy to the unique circumstances of your accident, injuries, and damages
• A policy of open communication and availability so you are always involved and up to date on the progress of your claim

We do not charge upfront fees to injured clients. Instead, you’ll enjoy a free consultation and our aggressive legal representation at no charge to you until after we recover your compensation.

What Is an E-Scooter?

E-scooters are an increasingly popular form of transportation within communities. An e-scooter is a two-wheeled device with a center deck and handles for steering and braking. They carry the rider in an upright, standing position while an electric motor propels them forward. Commonly used e-scooters travel between 15-20 miles per hour.

The Federal Highway Administration classifies e-scooters as micro-mobility devices, along with e-bikes, segways, and other small, single-person, low-speed mobility devices. Designed for short-distance transportation, e-scooters are available for individual purchase, but many rental agencies and transportation authorities in Kansas City and other urban areas also offer e-scooters for rent through convenient apps allowing versatile pickup and drop-off locations.

Understanding E-Scooter Accidents In Kansas City

Electric scooter accident injuries have skyrocketed since the rise of scooter-sharing app services. One research study examined 3,331 individuals with injuries resulting from e-scooter accidents over a 34-month period and noted major impacts on emergency rooms and surgical departments in cities. E-scooter injuries occur to the scooter riders themselves, and also to pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, and others involved in collisions with e-scooters.

E-scooter accident numbers rose from an average of 26.9 per month before the popularity of e-scooter sharing services to 152.6 per month since the development of e-scooter app services. The most common e-scooter-related accidents in Kansas City include:

• Rider falls
• Collisions with bicyclists
• Collisions with pedestrians
• Collisions with motor vehicles
• Collisions with obstacles
• Trip-and-fall accidents when pedestrians trip over abandoned rental scooters

Injury victims in e-scooter accidents include the scooter rider, pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists who experience accidents while trying to avoid hitting an e-scooter.

What Makes E-Scooters Dangerous?

Most states and scooter rental agencies do not require riders over the age of 16 to wear helmets or other protective gear. Rental e-scooters travel around 15 miles per hour with most scooter riders wearing little or no protection, leaving them vulnerable to serious injuries in accidents. Privately owned e-scooters are capable of much greater speeds. Pedestrians and bystanders are also susceptible to serious injuries when involved in e-scooter accidents. Transportation experts point out what causes and contributes to serious e-scooter accidents in Kansas City and elsewhere:

• E-scooters travel at faster speeds than pedestrians
• An e-scooter has a slim design that makes it difficult for motorists and pedestrians to see them and to accurately judge speed
• The low, small-wheeled design of scooters leaves them vulnerable to debris, potholes, and other road hazards
• E-scooters are difficult to maneuver in an emergency
• Many e-scooter riders mistakenly consider themselves pedestrian traffic and operate scooters on sidewalks despite municipality laws prohibiting this in Kansas City and other areas
• State laws and city ordinances may have conflicting rules regulating e-scooter use, such as whether they are allowed on sidewalks and roadways of various speeds causing confusion and misuse
• E-scooter riders don’t always yield the right of way to pedestrians
• E-scooters and riders are difficult to see in low light hours and inclement weather conditions
• An e-scooter is quiet and pedestrians may not hear one approaching
• E-scooters are fun and often attract inexperienced riders or incentivize riders to take reckless actions or attempt tricks and stunts
• E-scooter rental riders may leave the scooters in doorways or on sidewalks, creating a trip-and-fall hazard to pedestrians

Many accidents occur due to the confusion of riders, pedestrians, and motorists who aren’t certain of the rules of right of way and whether to classify an e-scooter in traffic as a motor vehicle, pedestrian, or bicycle.

Missouri’s Laws on E-Scooter Use In Traffic

Under Missouri § 307.205., the law states the following:

“An electric personal assistive mobility device may be operated upon a street, highway, sidewalk, and bicycle path. Every person operating such a device shall be granted all of the rights and be subject to all of the duties applicable to a pedestrian …An electric personal assistive mobility device shall be operated only on roadways with a speed limit of forty-five miles per hour or less. This shall not prohibit the use of such devices when crossing roadways with speed limits in excess of forty-five miles per hour.

However, the law also goes on to state the following:

“A city or town shall have the authority to impose additional regulations on the operation of an electric personal assistive mobility device within its city or town limits.”

In Kansas City, e-scooter riders have the same rights and responsibilities as cyclists. They may share the roadway with cars. Motorists have an obligation to be watchful of e-scooters and take all reasonable precautions to avoid causing injuries. Kansas City prohibits e-scooter riders from using sidewalks just as the law applies to cyclists.

Common Injuries In E-scooter Accidents In Kansas City

Injuries in Missouri e-scooter accidents most commonly occur to the riders themselves or to pedestrian traffic. In some cases, motorists experience car accident injuries due to a collision with an e-scooter or by swerving to avoid colliding with an e-scooter. Common injuries in e-scooter accidents include the following:

• Fractures
• Head injuries/traumatic brain injuries
• Soft-tissue injuries to knees, elbows, shoulders, ankles, and wrists, such as strains and sprains
• Road rash (serious abrasions)
• Contusions and lacerations
• Neck injuries
• Back injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Facial and dental trauma

Depending on the severity of injuries, an e-scooter accident victim may face financial losses as well as physical pain and suffering. The consequences of an e-scooter accident may be as little as a single emergency room bill and a few days of lost pay or life-altering disability and financial hardship. Regardless, if a preventable e-scooter accident occurs due to someone else’s negligence, the injury victim has the right to file a claim for compensation against the liable party.

Who Might Be Liable for Damages After an E-Scooter Accident In Kansas City?

It often takes a detailed investigation into an e-scooter accident to determine the liable party. Compensation in personal injury claims typically comes from a direct claim against the appropriate insurance policy. Common liable parties in e-scooter accident claims include:

• The scooter rider if they caused an injury to a pedestrian, cyclist, or motorist in a collision due to failure to yield the right of way, operating an e-scooter recklessly, using a sidewalk in prohibited areas, or operating a scooter while impaired
• Motorists if they injured a scooter rider due to distracted driving, speeding, or failure to yield the right of way
• A pedestrian who steps into the path of an e-scooter and the rider experiences an injury due to their attempts to avoid a collision
• Scooter rental companies if they fail to properly maintain a scooter or give inadequate instructions
• A negligent city agency if their failure to maintain a roadway left conditions hazardous to scooter riders who are lawfully using the roadway
• The manufacturer of a defective e-scooter

An injury victim seeking compensation for damages after a scooter accident must prove liability by showing the following through the evidence:

• The at-fault party owed a duty of care to take all reasonable measures to avoid causing an accident with injuries
• They breached this duty through carelessness or recklessness
• Their breach of duty directly caused the injuries
• The injury victim suffered damages from the injury

It’s beneficial to your case to hire an attorney to investigate all aspects of the accident, document evidence of the at-fault party’s liability, and carefully calculate your damages so you have the best possible chance of recovering full compensation for your losses.

What Damages Can I Recover In an E-Scooter Accident Claim In Kansas City?

Injuries in e-scooter accidents range from mild to severe or life-altering. Some e-scooter accidents have ended in fatalities. Depending on the severity of the injuries, damages may include any or all of the following:

• Past and future medical expenses
• Past and future lost earnings
• Diminished future earning capacity due to disability
• Compensation for pain and suffering
• Compensation for any other non-economic damages that apply in some cases, such as disfigurement, loss of limb, loss of vision or hearing, or diminished quality of life.

If a loved one dies from injuries they received in an accident involving an e-scooter, a Missouri wrongful death claim could bring compensation to close family members.

What to Do After an E-Scooter Accident In Kansas City

Sudden serious injuries are shocking, painful, and traumatic. After an e-scooter accident, you may be too seriously injured to do anything other than wait for an ambulance. However, if you are physically able to use a cell phone safely—or ask a companion or bystander to do so for you—it’s possible to begin protecting yourself physically and financially at the scene of the accident. After an e-scooter accident, take the following steps:

• First, call 911 to report the accident. All traffic-related accidents with injuries should be reported to the police
• Request an ambulance if you or someone else is seriously injured or make arrangements for transportation to a hospital straight from the scene—this ensures documented evidence that your injuries occurred in the accident and not elsewhere
• Use your phone’s camera to take photos of the accident scene including anything relevant to the cause of the accident
• Take photos of any visible injuries
• Add the contact names of all involved parties and any eyewitnesses
• Record a brief audio or video statement of what you remember about the moments before the accident and what occurred while it’s fresh in your mind. Sometimes trauma causes the memory to fade later

At the hospital, ask for a complete medical assessment as well as treatment for any emergency injuries. This sometimes preemptively catches injuries with delayed symptoms. Then, ask for a detailed medical report listing your injuries, the doctor’s treatment recommendations, and your overall prognosis. Obtain a copy of the police report and call an attorney from Miller & Hine before dealing with any insurance companies involved in the case.

Call The Kansas City E-Scooter Accident Lawyers at Miller & Hine

Dealing with injuries from an e-scooter accident is difficult enough without taking on a complex legal process. Since not all entities involved in this type of accident claim are familiar with the state and city laws, and liability isn’t always immediately clear, insurance companies commonly point their finger at someone else. Instead of managing a challenging claim while trying to focus on recovering from your injuries, call Miller & Hine, the Kansas City personal injury lawyers with experience in e-scooter accident claims.