Electric scooters like Lime have quickly become a popular way to get around cities. Their easy access and use mean more scooters are showing up on sidewalks, streets, and bike lanes throughout many urban areas. However, as their popularity has increased, so have reports of accidents and serious injuries involving riders, pedestrians, and cars.
Understanding the risks and your legal options is important for anyone using or sharing the road with these new types of transportation. Contact our scooter accident attorneys in Washington DC to discuss your case with a legal professional today.
Common Causes of Lime Scooter Accidents
Lime scooter accidents can happen in many different ways, including:
- Defective or Poorly Maintained Scooters: Scooters that have mechanical issues like loose handlebars, broken wheels, or failing electronics are far more likely to malfunction while being used.
- Collisions with Cars or Trucks: Scooter riders can be hard to see, especially in city traffic. When drivers fail to yield, speed, or aren’t paying attention, scooters and cars can collide with serious consequences.
- Road Hazards (Potholes, Debris, Construction Zones): Simple bumps or gaps in the pavement, stray branches, or street construction can cause riders to lose control and crash.
- Malfunctioning Brakes or Acceleration: Sometimes scooters don’t stop when they should, or they speed up unexpectedly. These types of mechanical failures give riders almost no time to react safely.
- Lack of Helmets or Protective Gear: Not wearing a helmet or protective gear increases the risk of head injuries and broken bones when falls or crashes do occur.
Recognizing what causes these accidents helps clarify who might be at fault and highlights why scooter riders need to pay close attention every time they go for a ride.
Who Could Be Liable in a Scooter Accident?
Liability in a Lime scooter accident can be complicated, with several possible parties who might bear legal responsibility for the crash and your injuries.
Lime – The Scooter Company
If your injuries were caused by equipment failure, lack of proper maintenance, or a mechanical defect such as bad brakes or faulty electronics, then Lime – as the owner of the scooter fleet – may be at fault. Their duty is to make sure all scooters are safe to ride and to properly inspect and repair them.
Motor Vehicle Operators
Many scooter accidents happen because of negligent drivers, such as those who fail to yield, speed, door a rider, look at their phones, or don’t watch for scooters on crosswalks and bike lanes. If a motorist caused or contributed to your accident, they can be held liable for your injuries like in any other road collision. A car accident attorney in Washington DC can help guide you through the process of filing a claim.
The City or Municipality
Cities are responsible for maintaining roads, clearly marking hazards, and fixing unsafe conditions such as potholes, crumbling pavement, or hidden construction zones. If poor upkeep or dangerous street layouts played a part in your crash, liability might fall on the local government.
Other Riders or Pedestrians
Sometimes, other scooter users or even people on foot can cause a fall or collision. For example, another rider weaving recklessly on the sidewalk or a pedestrian stepping out into traffic without looking could share responsibility if their behavior led to your injuries. Contact our Washington DC pedestrian accident lawyer for legal counsel.
The Injured Scooter Rider
There are cases where the person on the scooter shares some blame – maybe due to ignoring traffic signals, riding distracted, or using the scooter in an unsafe area. In most personal injury cases, Washington D.C. follows contributory negligence, meaning you cannot recover any compensation if you are even 1% at fault for the accident.
However, there is an exception for “vulnerable road users,” like scooter riders. In these cases, you can recover compensation if you’re partially responsible – as long as it’s not more than 50% your fault.
- 50–2204.52. Contributory negligence limitation.
(a) Unless the plaintiff’s negligence is a proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injury and greater than the aggregated total negligence of all the defendants that proximately caused the plaintiff’s injury, the negligence of the following shall not bar the plaintiff’s recovery in any civil action in which the plaintiff is one of the following:
(1) A pedestrian or vulnerable user of a public highway or sidewalk involved in a collision with a motor vehicle or another vulnerable user; or
(2) A vulnerable user of a public highway or sidewalk involved in a collision with a pedestrian.
In this case, your compensation will be reduced according to your share of responsibility.
In a Lime scooter accident case, the best way to determine liability and get the compensation you deserve is to reach out to a Washington DC personal injury lawyer. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.