Quirk Accident & Injury Attorneys represent victims injured by defective electric scooters in California. Defective scooters can be a result of careless manufacturing, distribution, or retailing of a scooter. The bottom line is that all defective scooters have the potential to cause life-altering injuries, leaving victims with undeserved financial hardships and the inability to make a living.
At Quirk, we understand that this is unfair to consumers, and the liable party must be held responsible for damages. Our team of Defective Products Attorneys will help you recover the compensation you need to get your life back on track if you were injured in a defective electric scooter accident. To understand your legal options, contact Quirk Accident & Injury Attorneys for a no-cost, no-obligation consultation.
Do I Need a Lawyer for a Defective Scooter Injury?
If you find yourself injured by a defective electric scooter while riding, it is recommended to consult with Quirk Accident & Injury Attorneys. However, it is important to assess your injuries before consulting with a lawyer. You most likely won’t need the help of our attorneys in a defective electric scooter accident if:
- The accident is minor with no apparent damage
- Your injuries are minor scrapes or small bruises
If your injuries have caused you to miss time at work, receive treatment from a doctor, or have prevented you from reasonably completing daily tasks, our Defective Product Attorneys can manage your case and ensure you are compensated for the following damages:
- Special Damages: Medical bills, ongoing treatment, costs that accumulate when you’re unable to work, like rent or mortgage payments
- General Damages: These are non-economic hardships like pain and suffering, anxiety, depression, mental trauma
- Wrongful Death Damages: These damages may be sought by a spouse or close relative for funeral arrangements, burial expenses, and medical treatment before a loved one’s death
- Punitive Damages: These damages are rare, but if the liable party engaged in reckless behavior or knowingly brought harm to others by blatantly ignoring safety protocols, then you could sue for punitive damages
Steps You Should Take After a Defective Electric Scooter Injury
An injury caused by a defective electric scooter can affect your financial stability, career, and mental well-being, which is why it is important to make sure you take the necessary steps to protect your right to compensation. While your health is what is most important after an injury, receiving financial compensation can ensure you receive vital medical treatment in order to make a full recovery.
So, if you’re unsure about what you’re supposed to do, don’t worry. At Quirk Accident & Injury Attorneys, we can handle your case for you, so you don’t have to worry about being taken advantage of by the insurance company, defense lawyers, or missing out on compensation you may need for current and future medical procedures. We recommend taking the following steps to ensure you have a strong case:
- Collect Medical Records: Even if your injuries seem minor, they can manifest into something much worse weeks later. So, it is recommended to check in with a doctor and get a record of your injury. An MRI or an X-ray can reveal substantial damage that you might not be aware of. These documents will be essential to building a strong case.
- Get a Police Report (if applicable) or injury report: Failing to report your injury to some figure of authority, or a corporation, will not help your case, especially if the case comes down to your word over the other party’s word. An injury report will provide important details about what happened and may even assign blame. This info is critical evidence in any claim and will play a key role in ensuring you are fully compensated.
- Gather Evidence: You should document the accident as thoroughly as possible. Take pictures of the defective product and the property where the accident occurred. Take a video of yourself recounting the accident while it is still fresh in your mind.
- Collect Eye Witness Statements: if there are any eyewitnesses, try and get a statement from them. Or, at least, get their names and numbers, as they can testify on your behalf or provide a statement to corroborate your story later.
- Collect General Information: Be sure to get the name, phone number, and contact information of the liable party.
- Contact Quirk Accident & Injury Attorneys: Our firm is standing by to help injured victims in California. Call, text, or email. Our door is always open to the community, and we’d love to help you through this difficult time.
Defective Electric Scooters and Product Liability Law
If a defective electric scooter caused you to get hurt, you can file a product liability claim against the liable party. Typical liable parties for a defective electric scooter include:
- Manufacturer
- Designer
- Retailer
- Corporation
If the accident was fatal, then the family of the decedent would file a wrongful death claim. However, it is recommended to speak with a Product Liability Lawyer at Quirk before discussing the incident with the liable party’s insurance. Insurance companies will often attempt to get the injured party to accept partial blame or admit fault. This can be extremely damaging to your personal injury claim. Our attorneys will ensure you are protected from liability and manage all communications on your behalf.
How is Fault Proven in a Defective Electric Scooter Lawsuit
Fault is typically proven through investigations, interrogatories, and depositions. These are legal procedures best handled through an attorney. Defective electric scooter accident victims who partner with attorneys tend to get more compensation than those who do not. An attorney can seek damages through product liability lawsuits based on:
- Strict liability: a manufacturer can be held responsible for strict liability. A plaintiff must prove the electric scooter was defective and the defect was a direct cause of their injury. Strict liability can be imposed for three types of product defects:
- Manufacturing defects
- Design defects
- Warning defects (inadequate warning)
- Carelessness: requires the plaintiff to prove the defendant failed to exercise reasonable care in the design, manufacture, or distribution of their product, which caused substantial injuries.
- Breach of warranty: warranties guarantee an electric scooter’s performance, but if it fails to meet these guarantees, a breach of warranty could be pursued.
Defective electric scooter lawsuits are notoriously complex due to the number of liable parties involved. To achieve a successful lawsuit against a parts manufacturer, distributor, retailer, or employer, it is vital to consult with a Quirk Accident & Injury Attorney who can manage every aspect of your case and ensure your right to fair compensation is protected.
Common Electric Scooter Injuries
Riding an electric scooter is a physical activity that involves moving fast, along with constant balancing as you ride. With the combination of high speeds and concrete roadways electric scooter riders experience every day, injuries are common hardships shared by all riders, ranging from minor cuts, and broken bones, to catastrophic brain injuries. Some of the most common electric scooter injuries include:
- Nose fractures: a nose fracture involves a break in the nose bone. It often occurs due to direct impact or force applied to the nose, for example, when a rider falls and hits their nose on the ground.
- Cheek fractures: a cheek fracture is a break in the cheekbone resulting from blunt force trauma to the face. Riders will often overlook a cheekbone fracture as they’ll experience pain and facial bruising without realizing something is broken. For that reason, it is important to seek medical attention for any facial injuries.
- Lacerations: this injury occurs when the skin is cut or torn. It can occur when a rider falls and hits their skin on a rough surface. These can range from minor cuts to deep gashes. It is essential to clean the wound immediately to avoid infection.
- Broken Teeth: broken teeth occur when a rider falls and hits their mouth on the ground, or their scooter. Teeth injuries range from small chips to complete tooth fractures. Tooth treatment can be extensive and requires root canal treatment in severe cases.
- Plantar Fasciitis: plantar fasciitis is a condition that occurs due to the irritation or inflammation of the plantar fascia, a band of tissue that connects the heel bone to the base of a rider’s toes. This injury commonly occurs in riders due to the intense, gripping motion of the toes while balancing and poor calf strength.
- Head injuries and Concussions: riding an electric scooter can lead to serious falls that may result in head injuries. There are two types of head injuries that can occur: closed and open. Closed head injuries do not break the skull, while open or penetrating head injuries when an impact breaks the skull and enters the brain. These injuries require immediate medical attention and can have severe consequences on a person’s motor skills and ability to function normally throughout their daily lives.
- Broken Bones: broken bones are common in riders, mostly because electric scooter riders are gliding over concrete at high speeds. The most common bones riders break include the wrist, ankle, elbow, arms, and legs.
Contact a California Defective Electric Scooter Injury Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured due to a defective electric scooter in California, Quirk Accident and Injury Attorneys can provide you with legal support to get you the compensation you need. Defective electric scooters could mean the scooter was designed with bad breaks, failed to get recalled, or a retailer knowingly sold a defective scooter, which resulted in injuries.
Our firm protects injured victims and will aggressively take legal action against all parties responsible for your injuries to reach a successful settlement. To get started today, contact Quirk Accident & Injury Attorneys for a no-cost, no-obligation consultation. Our firm operates on a contingency basis, so you will not have to pay a cent unless we win your case.