Bird scooter advertises a goal of helping people get around town and reduce carbon emissions by giving quick and easy access to electric scooters in cities like Miami. They also advertise the safety of their scooters by discussing how you should wear a helmet and follow local traffic laws. However, electric scooter rental companies like Bird cannot do anything to stop other drivers who might cause serious scooter accidents.
If you were hit by a car while riding an electric scooter you rented from Bird, talk to Miami Bird scooter injury lawyer Prosper Shaked today. Prosper Shaked Accident Injury Attorneys PA help injured victims file personal injury lawsuits against the responsible parties and fight to get them compensation for their injuries. For a free legal consultation on your injury case and to find out more about whom you can sue, call our law offices today at (305) 694-2676.
Suing Bird for Scooter Accidents
Typically, Bird is not directly liable for accidents you suffer on one of their scooters. Unless the accident was caused by a malfunction with an unsafe scooter, your case is better filed against the at-fault driver that hit you. In most cases, Bird’s terms of service keep riders from suing Bird for injuries. When our personal injury lawyer examines your case, he can help you understand whether you can sue Bird or not and whom you should sue instead.
Suing Other Drivers for Scooter Accidents in Miami
Most personal injury cases involving Bird rental scooters will involve you on your scooter and at least one driver in a car, truck, or bus that hit you. In many cases, who is “at-fault” for the crash will determine whom you sue for damages and how you prove their fault in the crash.
In Florida, an electric scooter is a vehicle. This means that you typically need to drive it on the street – but not on the highway – and follow all posted signs and speed limits. You also need to follow helmet laws by wearing a helmet if you are under 16. You can also be accused of drunk driving on a scooter.
If you were hit by a car while riding a scooter, your case will hinge on what that driver did wrong to cause the accident. Things like speeding, texting and driving, and drunk driving are some of the most dangerous causes of car accidents and typically allow you to hold that driver accountable for the injuries you suffered. However, you can also prove that they caused an accident by pointing to other errors they made behind the wheel, such as running a red light, failing to signal before changing lanes, cutting corners, or opening a door into your lane of traffic.
If the at-fault driver tries to claim that you were actually responsible for the crash, you may still be able to collect damages in your case. Typically, Florida law allows injury victims to sue for damages even if they were partly responsible for the accident. Instead of blocking your case, Florida law only reduces your damages proportionately to your level of fault. For instance, if you were riding on the sidewalk and the court says that that puts you 10% at fault – since scooter must be ridden on the street – you could still receive 90% of your damages from the at-fault driver.
Damages in a Bird Scooter Accident Case
In most injury cases, the damages you can claim are directly related to the injuries you faced and the costs associated with these injuries. You may even be able to estimate these damages on your own by looking at your hospital bills and lost wages from the accident. However, it is vital to have a personal injury lawyer review your case and help you calculate your damages, since you might be entitled to damages you did not know about.
Medical expenses are one major area of damages you can claim in your injury case. Since most scooter injury cases involve riders being hit by full-sized cars or SUVs, it is common for these cases to involve serious injuries such as broken bones, internal bleeding, severe cuts and lacerations, and potentially even life-altering injuries like brain trauma or spinal cord injuries. These injuries could require extremely expensive medical care, which should be covered in whole in an injury case.
If your injuries were severe enough, you may have had to miss work. The damages you faced for lost wages should be covered in full in an injury case, paying you back for your missed work. This can even extend into the future, covering additional wages you will lose if you still cannot return to work or if your injury leaves you with permanent disabilities that reduce your earning capacity.
In addition to these financial costs, you can also claim damages for pain and suffering. The more severe your injury is, the higher the damages you are typically entitled to for pain and suffering. However, your damages also depend heavily on how the injury affected your life, your activities, your enjoyment of life, and your ability to care for yourself day-to-day.
Call Our Miami Bird Scooter Injury Attorney for a Free Legal Consultation
Talk to a lawyer about what your case is worth. Never rely on the at-fault driver or their insurance company to tell you what your case is worth, since their settlement offers may be too low or fail to include damages for pain and suffering. For a free legal consultation on your Bird scooter injury case, call Prosper Shaked Accident Injury Attorneys PA today. Our Miami Bird scooter injury lawyer may be able to take your case and fight to get you the compensation you need for your injuries. For a free legal consultation, call Prosper Shaked today at (305) 694-2676.