Do you own an electric scooter? If you do then it’s important that you familiarize yourself with all of the safety hazards. Yes, similar to self balancing scooters, there are hazards with them even though they move at such a slow pace.
You can still get in an automobile accident or go flying off the road in unfavorable weather conditions. Sadly, these accidents are more common than not. When and if it happens to you, knowing what to do and who to call can save your life.
To help you keep yourself and others safe, here is a quick guide on electric scooter accidents that you should read before you go out on the road.
1. Common Types of Injuries Involving a Motor Scooter
Scooters are typically used to get from place to place in small areas and move at slow speeds. There are also quite a few road laws in place that involve them. Despite all this, it’s common to run into motor scooter accidents.
The most common involves a scooter coming into contact with a car, hitting a pedestrian, running into another scooter, a scooter malfunction, or riders colliding with road hazards and running off the road/tipping over.
2. Check on Anyone Involved in the Accident
As soon as the accident happens unless you are terribly injured, you should pull your scooter to a safe place and check on anyone else involved to see if they are okay.
If anyone seems injured (including yourself) call for first aid right away. The longer you wait, the more serious even small injuries can get.
3. Call the Police
After you get off the phone with emergency care, call the police. If there was any property damage or bodily damage done they need to know about it. Once the police arrive, make sure you give a thorough and truthful report about what happened and ask for a copy of it.
If you don’t end up calling the police before you leave the scene that’s fine but you’ll still need to get in touch with them at some point to give a report.
4. Gather Information
If you do decide to call the officers you need to try and get as much information about the accident as you can before they arrive. Get the other person’s name and if they are driving a motor vehicle their license plate number, drivers license number, and insurance information.
Talk to witnesses and get their contact information. Lastly, take photos of the scene with your smartphone.
5. Seek Medical Attention
Even if you don’t get medical attention at the scene of the accident, you should still visit the emergency room after or go to a doctor of some kind within a day. Having a record of some kind that states what your injuries are can help you if you want to file a claim later.
Also, some injuries don’t present themselves for a while after an accident. Issues like internal injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and soft tissue injuries could take a few days or weeks even to show up. It’s best you talk to a doctor before they have a chance to become a problem without you knowing about them.
6. Talk to a Lawyer
For the most part, you probably have a basic understanding of your rights when it comes to a motor vehicle or bike accident. Still, you may call a lawyer anyway. When it comes to scooter collisions, they’re sort of a relatively new phenomenon so you may not be as familiar with them.
It’s best to let a trained professional take care of all the legal stuff. Scooter accidents can be damaging and also very costly. You’re more likely to get compensation for it if you see a personal injury lawyer.
7. How is Fault Even Determined
Determining who is at fault when it comes to a scooter accident is a pretty hard process. It’s going to take serious evidence to determine if you were at fault or not. Some of this evidence includes
- Statements from witnesses and drivers
- Vehicle parts scattered around the scene
- Video footage or photos
- Skid marks or other physical evidence.
In short, you need to prove negligence happened on the other person’s end in order to get compensation. For example, if the defendant was speeding and not paying attention to where they were going.
If the accident was caused because of a malfunction with the scooter you may not be able to get anything from the defendant but you could sue the manufacturer.
8. Types of Compensation
If the accident was proven to not be your fault then you will be entitled to compensation. This compensation falls into the categories of economic and non-economic.
Economic
As the name suggests, economic compensation will cover any financial hit that you took due to the accident. This includes your medical bills, medication costs, long-term care costs, loss of income, and property damages.
Non-Economic
There are some results of the accident that can’t be put a value on. Non-economic reimbursement will help you with that. This includes disfigurement, pain, and suffering, loss of limb, paralysis, loss of sight or hearing, or anything else that dampers your quality of life.
What to Do in the Event of Electric Scooter Accidents
Even though scooters move at a slow speed it’s still possible to get into an accident with them. If you use one to get to work, or just around your neighborhood it’s important that you know what to do in the event of a collision.
Think back to this guide on electric scooter accidents so you know how to react and who to call. Stay safe out there.
Want to learn more info about what to do after an auto accident? Visit our blog to learn more.
