A rented scooter puts a person on a small platform with hard wheels in traffic, at around fifteen miles an hour, with no protection at all. A car turning across a bike lane, a driver opening a door, a pothole, a raised sidewalk lip or a brake that grabs is enough to send a rider face first into pavement. Wrist and elbow fractures, shoulder injuries, facial injuries and head injuries are the ordinary result. People on foot who are struck by a scooter get hurt in the same ways.
Manoukian Law Firm represents scooter riders and the people injured by them throughout California. Attorney Vaheh Manoukian handles each case personally, from the first call to the end. Small firm access, big firm knowledge, with every case prepared as if it will be tried.
What to do after a scooter accident
- Call 911 and get medical care. Ask for a police report, and if a vehicle was involved, make sure the driver’s information is recorded.
- Do not end the ride in the app until you have screenshots. Capture the ride record, the scooter identification number, the start and end points, the map and the time.
- Photograph the scooter, especially any broken part, along with the roadway, the vehicle, the lane markings and your injuries.
- Report the incident through the app or the company’s reporting channel, in writing.
- Get contact information for witnesses and for any nearby business with a camera facing the street.
- Keep your damaged helmet, clothing and phone. They are physical evidence of the forces involved.
- File a DMV SR-1 within ten days if a motor vehicle was involved and there was injury or over $1,000 in damage, under Vehicle Code section 16000.
How these cases work in California
Motorized scooters are governed by Vehicle Code section 21221 and the sections that follow. A scooter rider generally has the rights and responsibilities of a driver, with rules specific to scooters about where they may be ridden and how. Riders under 18 must wear a helmet. Riders 18 and over are not required to, and the absence of a helmet does not by itself end a claim, though it is an argument you should expect.
Most rider injuries are caused by another vehicle. Those claims run against the driver and their insurance, subject to California’s minimum limits of 30/60/15 under Vehicle Code section 16056: $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident and $15,000 in property damage. Serious scooter injuries routinely exceed those limits, which is why uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage matters. Under Insurance Code section 11580.2, that coverage must be offered, and a rider’s own auto policy, or a household member’s, can sometimes respond even though the rider was not in a car. Finding all available coverage is part of the work.
Where the cause was a defect, a brake that failed, a stem or fork that separated, a throttle that stuck or a wheel that locked, the claim can run against the scooter company and, depending on the facts, the maintenance contractor or manufacturer. Scooter fleets are serviced by contractors and by independent chargers, and maintenance and repair records for the specific vehicle are central to those cases.
Where the cause was the roadway, a pothole, a plate, a broken sidewalk or a missing barrier, the responsible party may be a public entity, and a written government claim is generally due within six months under Government Code section 911.2. Those cases share ground with our sidewalk accident page.
California uses pure comparative negligence under Li v. Yellow Cab, so if a rider is found partly at fault, recovery is reduced by that share rather than barred. When a scooter strikes someone on foot, the analysis follows the rules discussed on our pedestrian accident page, and scooter cases share much of their evidence work with bicycle accident claims, including the three-foot passing rule in Vehicle Code section 21760.
How Manoukian Law Firm handles scooter injury claims
Scooter evidence lives on servers and disappears on a schedule. We move immediately to preserve the ride data, the GPS track, the scooter’s maintenance and repair history, prior complaints for that unit, and any video from nearby businesses or traffic cameras. Where a defect is suspected, we work to secure the scooter itself before it is returned to the fleet or scrapped.
We then identify every party and every policy: the driver and their insurer, the scooter company, maintenance contractors, a public entity where the road or walkway was the cause, and any uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage available to our client. We review the app’s user agreement carefully rather than accepting a company’s characterization of it.
On the medical side, we collect the records and billing and, where injuries are lasting, work with treating physicians so future care is documented by the doctors providing it. We handle communications with the insurers. Our office is on Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Chatsworth, close to the Valley streets and campus areas where these collisions cluster, and the firm represents injured people throughout California. When travel is difficult we meet by phone, by video, at home or in the hospital.
What can be recovered
California allows recovery for what the injury actually cost and what it took away. Economic losses include emergency care, surgery, hardware, dental and facial repair, imaging, physical therapy, medication, equipment and the future care a physician expects will be needed, along with lost income and reduced earning capacity where the injury changes what someone can do for work. Medical damages are measured by the amounts actually paid or owed under Howell v. Hamilton Meats.
Non-economic losses cover pain, scarring, sleep loss and the ordinary activities a person can no longer do. Head injuries deserve particular attention in scooter cases, because riders often land head first and because symptoms can surface days afterward, as explained on our brain injury page. Where a scooter collision causes a death, wrongful death claims under Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 belong to a spouse, domestic partner, children and certain dependents.
Deadlines
The general California deadline is two years from the date of injury under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. If a road, sidewalk or other public property condition contributed, a written claim to the public entity is generally due within six months under Government Code section 911.2. Scooter companies also apply their own reporting requirements, and ride data is not kept forever. The useful window for evidence is far shorter than the legal deadline.
Case results
Our client suffered catastrophic injuries after being struck by a commercial delivery driver who was on the job.
Our client developed ongoing neck pain after a multi-vehicle rear-end collision on the highway, requiring pain-management treatment.
First offer: $0. The insurer valued our client's injuries at $5,000 to $10,000, and called it a “soft impact.”
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Frequently asked questions
I was not wearing a helmet. Does that end my claim?
No. Riders 18 and over are not required to wear helmets in California, and pure comparative negligence means a partial fault argument reduces recovery rather than eliminating it. Expect the argument, particularly with head injuries, and expect it to be addressed with medical evidence.
The app said I agreed to arbitration and released the company. Is that enforceable?
It depends on the specific terms and the facts. Those provisions address claims against the scooter company. They do not affect a claim against the driver who hit you, or against a public entity responsible for the roadway, which is often where the substantial coverage is.
The driver who hit me had minimum insurance. What then?
That is common, and 30/60/15 rarely covers a serious injury. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy or a household member’s policy can apply even though you were on a scooter. Identifying every policy is part of the case.
A scooter hit me while I was walking. Who is responsible?
Usually the rider, who has the responsibilities of a driver under the Vehicle Code. Homeowners or renters coverage sometimes responds, and where the rider lost control because of a defect or a road condition, the scooter company or a public entity may also be responsible.
If you were hurt on or by a rental scooter, the ride data and the scooter itself are the first things to secure. Call Manoukian Law Firm at (818) 818-5031, any hour, or reach us through the contact page. Calls are answered in English, Spanish and Armenian, the consultation is free, and there is no fee unless we recover for you.
Serving clients across California
The office is on Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Chatsworth, and the firm represents injured people throughout California. If you cannot travel, we meet by phone, by video, at your home or in the hospital.
