Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC can help you if you’ve been injured in an electric scooter (e-scooter) accident in Louisville. Any major city is going to have different modes of transportation, and just like e-bikes, e-scooters have become more and more prevalent around Louisville. While they’re convenient, that goes away when there’s an accident. We can help you sort through it all. Set up a free consultation today.
How a Lawyer Makes Things Easier After an Electric Scooter Accident
It’s pretty easy to understand why electric scooter accidents can be so serious. There’s no seatbelt, no airbag, and not much between you and a car, truck, pothole, or the pavement. When something goes wrong, you’re usually the one taking the impact.
And then the bills start showing up. You may miss work, need medical treatment, have a damaged scooter, and start getting calls from an insurance company asking questions about what happened. That’s where having a lawyer can make things a lot easier. When our team at Kaufman & Stigger steps in, we can:
- Explain your options in plain terms so you know what to expect
- Look into what caused the accident and figure out who could be responsible
- Handle the back-and-forth with the insurance companies so you don’t have to
- Gather the evidence needed to support your claim
- Go to court if that’s what it takes
There’s nothing easy after an e-scooter accident. And when you factor that in, it’s easier to see where a lawyer can help. But there’s also things you can do to help yourself right after the accident happens.
Information That Can Help After Your E-Scooter Accident
The suddenness of an e-scooter accident takes everybody by surprise. One second, you’re cruising along the sidewalk, and the next thing you know, you’re on the ground and in pain. When that happens, you’re not thinking about information gathering.
You’re probably trying to catch your breath, figure out what hurts, and decide whether you need to go to the hospital. At that point, it’s best to:
- Call 911 if you’re hurt. Police and EMTs can help with your injuries and document what happened. This will get an ambulance and police to the scene.
While you wait, it’s a good chance to get a few basics, like:
- Pictures/videos of the scooter, the car that hit you, your injuries, the road, traffic signs, bike lanes, potholes, debris, and anything else there at the scene.
- Contact information from the driver, pedestrian, bystander, or anyone else who saw what happened,
That’s about as much as you can do there at the scene. You’re not trying to document the entire thing yourself, just enough to get the ball rolling. Then, in the coming days, you’ll want to keep track of things like:
- Medical bills and records
- The police report
- Notes about your pain, recovery, and how your injuries are progressing
- Pay stubs or work records if you’ve missed time on the job
- Camera footage from nearby businesses, homes, or traffic cameras before it gets deleted
- Receipts for damaged helmets, phones, clothing, or other gear
You don’t have to have all of this figured out yourself. Even if all you have are a few pictures and your medical records, that gives us somewhere to start. We can help fill in the gaps and put everything together while you focus on getting better.
How Legal Responsibility Works With an E-Scooter Accident
There’s a lot of differences that come with an e-scooter. You’re obviously moving faster than a normal scooter or skateboard would allow you to go, but just because the vehicle is different doesn’t mean you give up your rights when you’re hurt in an accident.
While there are city ordinances in place about where and when you can ride them, you still have the same rights and options when you’re hurt because somebody else was being careless. So that means the details of what happened matter, and can that brings in a number of different people in terms of who might be legally responsible, like:
- A driver who was speeding, distracted, impaired, failed to yield, or simply wasn’t paying attention to you.
- The city or a property owner if a pothole, broken pavement, dangerous sidewalk, poor lighting, or something else unsafe led to the accident.
- Another cyclist, pedestrian, or user if something they did caused the collision.
- The scooter company or parts maker if there was a problem with the brakes, steering, tires, battery, motor, or another part of the scooter. This could also bring in rental companies that provide access to dockless e-scooters.
So yes, there’s a lot of different questions when it comes to legal responsibility after an e-scooter accident. But for you, it’s about doing what you can to move forward. And that’s where your legal options come into play.
What Options Do I Have After an E-Scooter Accident?
It feels different than normal accidents, but the reality is that getting hurt on an e-scooter is the same in terms of your legal options when somebody else’s negligence caused your injuries. That means you can file an injury claim and go after financial support through:
- An insurance claim outside of court
- A personal injury lawsuit
Obviously, there’s a lot of variability in terms of what these kinds of accidents leave you with, but generally, you can recover costs associated with your:
- Medical expenses and future medical treatment
- Lost wages or reduced earning capacity in the future
- Repair/replacement costs for damaged personal property
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Reduced quality of life
- Wrongful death damages in fatal accidents
Kentucky generally gives you one year from the date of the accident to file, and that can dry up quickly when you’re trying to deal with everything you’re left with.
Where Do E-Scooter Accidents Happen Around Louisville?
E-scooters can take you through a lot of different parts of Louisville, which also means there are plenty of different situations where an accident can happen. Usually though, you’ll find them in:
- Downtown Louisville, where you’ve got cars, bikes, pedestrians, and scooters all moving around the same busy streets and intersections.
- The Highlands and Bardstown Road, where there’s a lot going on between the traffic, businesses, pedestrians, bikes, and scooters.
- NuLu and East Market Street, where cars and pedestrians are moving through a pretty busy area and there’s a lot for everyone to keep track of.
- Waterfront Park and the nearby paths, where scooters share space with pedestrians, runners, cyclists, and other riders.
- Around the University of Louisville, where students and others use scooters to get around campus and the surrounding area.
- Parking lots and shopping centers, where drivers may not be expecting a scooter to come through or may not see one before turning.
- Louisville streets and sidewalks with potholes, cracks, or uneven pavement, which can be especially dangerous when you’re riding a small e-scooter.
As you can see, there’s a lot of different spots in Louisville where e-scooter accidents have been known to happen. Knowing these spots can help you, but there’s only so much you can do to account for someone else. And one way or the other, you shouldn’t be left dealing with the aftermath all on your own.
Free Consultations After Electric Scooter Accidents in Louisville
E-scooters might be convenient and a quicker way of getting from point A to point B in Louisville, but that also can lead to pretty serious injuries when you’re in an accident. No matter what the circumstances are, our team of Louisville e-scooter accident lawyers at Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC can help you understand your options, look into what happened, and deal with the insurance companies while you focus on getting better. Set up a free consultation today.
