Hit by a Delivery Courier on an E-Bike or Scooter? Who Pays

If a DoorDash or Uber Eats courier on an e-bike or scooter hit you on a sidewalk on Lankershim Boulevard or in a crosswalk on Ventura Boulevard, the claim usually runs against the courier personally and whatever insurance the courier carries, because the $1,000,000 delivery-company policy required by Proposition 22 applies only to automobiles. If you are the courier and a car hit you during a delivery, Prop 22 requires the company to carry occupational accident insurance that pays your medical bills and part of your lost income, and you still have an ordinary injury claim against the driver.

Both directions turn on three questions: what the courier was riding, whether the app showed an accepted order at the moment of the crash, and which policies were in force. This guide covers each side and explains why the app’s own trip record is the evidence to lock down first.

Prop 22 in plain terms, and what it does not do

Proposition 22, approved by voters in November 2020 and codified at Business and Professions Code sections 7448 through 7467, made app-based drivers independent contractors. The California Supreme Court upheld that provision in Castellanos v. State of California on July 25, 2024, noting that as a result app-based drivers are not covered by California workers’ compensation laws.

In exchange, the statute requires the companies to buy coverage, and two parts matter after a crash. The first is for the courier. Section 7455(a) requires occupational accident insurance covering medical expenses and lost income for injuries suffered while the courier is online. The policy must cover medical expenses up to at least $1,000,000 and pay disability benefits equal to 66 percent of the courier’s average weekly earnings from all network companies, for up to the first 104 weeks after the injury. Section 7463(h) defines delivery services to include deliveries made “using a passenger vehicle, bicycle, scooter, walking, public transportation, or other similar means of transportation,” so an e-bike or scooter courier is covered by this policy the same way a courier in a car is.

Section 7455(f)(1) is the part for the public, and it is narrower. It requires a delivery network company to maintain automobile liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence for injuries “proximately caused by the operation of an automobile by an app-based driver during engaged time,” and only “in instances where the automobile is not otherwise covered” by a compliant personal auto policy. The coverage is tied to an automobile, applies during engaged time (from acceptance of an order to completion), and by its own terms sits behind the courier’s personal auto policy.

If a courier on an e-bike or scooter hit you

Suppose a courier on a throttle e-bike came down the sidewalk on Magnolia Boulevard in North Hollywood and knocked you into a planter. Here is where the money can come from, in the order we look.

1. The courier personally. A courier who rides through pedestrians on a sidewalk or runs a signal is negligent and responsible for the harm regardless of insurance. Whether that person can pay a judgment is another matter.
2. The courier’s own auto policy. Many bike couriers also own a car. Some personal auto policies extend liability coverage to a motorized device, and some exclude it. The policy has to be read.
3. The courier’s renters or homeowners policy. Personal liability coverage sometimes reaches injuries caused while riding a bicycle, but policies commonly exclude motorized vehicles, and whether a given e-bike counts depends on its class and motor.
4. The delivery company’s excess policy, if any. DoorDash states that its third-party liability coverage of up to $1,000,000 applies during an active delivery where the Dasher is at fault, that it may apply as excess after the Dasher’s own insurance, and that it does not cover damage to the Dasher’s own vehicle; the page does not say it extends to bike or scooter deliveries. Uber’s delivery insurance page states that Uber “does not maintain coverage for bikes, electric bikes or walking, unless required by law,” and Prop 22 requires it only for automobiles.
5. The driver of any car involved. That driver’s liability policy is in play, and fault among the driver, the courier and you is divided under the pure comparative negligence rule from Li v. Yellow Cab.

For a pedestrian, the courier’s identity and the courier’s own insurance matter more than the logo on the delivery bag. Get the courier’s name, phone number, the app, and photographs of the bike or scooter. If the courier leaves, the app record can still identify them. Our pedestrian accident page covers the crosswalk rules under Vehicle Code 21950.

If a car hit you while you were delivering

Now the reverse. Suppose you had accepted a DoorDash order and were riding east on Chandler Boulevard when a driver turned left across your path. You have two separate sources of recovery.

The first is your ordinary injury claim against the driver. A courier on a bicycle or e-bike has the rights and duties of a vehicle driver under Vehicle Code 21200, and a driver who turns into you is at fault the same way as if you had been in a car. That claim covers medical bills, lost earnings, future care, and compensation for pain. If the driver had no insurance or too little, UM/UIM coverage on your own auto policy, or a policy of a relative you live with, often applies even though you were on a bike.

Then there is the Prop 22 occupational accident policy. Because you were online with an accepted order, section 7455(a) coverage is triggered whether you were in a car, on a bike, on a scooter or on foot. DoorDash states that its policy covers medical expenses up to $1,000,000 with no deductible or co-pay, that all Dashers are covered automatically, and that it does not cover damage to your bike or car. Uber’s national delivery insurance page states that Uber’s coverage does not pay for the courier’s own injuries, but in California section 7455(a) sets the requirement, so ask for the California occupational accident policy. Report the injury through the app promptly, because these policies have their own notice procedures.

One caution comes from section 7455(e): occupational accident benefits are treated as amounts payable under a workers’ compensation or disability law for UM/UIM purposes, so your own UM/UIM insurer may try to offset what the Prop 22 policy paid, which is a reason to coordinate the two claims from the start. A second caution: the coverage is not required to reach an accident while you are online but outside engaged time if you are engaged on another app or on a personal errand, so couriers who run two apps should expect the companies to point at each other. Our bicycle accident page and scooter accident page explain how the underlying injury claim is built.

The rules of the road for scooters and e-bikes

Motorized scooters are governed by Vehicle Code 21235. The operator may not ride on a sidewalk except to enter or leave adjacent property, may not carry a passenger, must hold a valid driver’s license or permit, must wear a helmet if under 18, and may not ride on a road with a speed limit over 25 miles per hour unless in a Class II or Class IV bikeway, subject to local ordinances allowing up to 35. Vehicle Code 22411 caps scooter speed at 15 miles per hour, and Vehicle Code 21221 gives a scooter rider the rights and duties of a vehicle driver, including the drunk driving laws.

E-bikes are defined by Vehicle Code 312.5: operable pedals and a motor of no more than 750 watts. Class 1 is pedal assist to 20 miles per hour, Class 2 has a throttle that cuts out at 20, and Class 3 is pedal assist to 28 with a speedometer. Class 3 riders must be at least 16 and wear a helmet under Vehicle Code 21213. A bike modified to exceed 20 miles per hour on motor power alone, or 750 watts, is not an electric bicycle under 312.5(d), and some courier bikes may fall into that category.

A violation by either party does not end the case. Under Li v. Yellow Cab, fault is divided by percentage and the injured person’s recovery is reduced by their share.

Preserve the app trip record before it is gone

The most useful evidence in a courier crash is the app’s own record: whether an order was accepted, when, the GPS trace, and the pickup and drop-off timestamps. It shows whether the courier was in engaged time, which controls which policy applies, and it can identify a courier who left the scene.

• If you are the courier, screenshot the active order and the trip timeline before the app archives them.
• If you are the injured pedestrian or driver, note the exact time and the app. A written preservation demand asking the company to hold the trip and GPS data for that time window should go out within days.
• Photograph the bike or scooter and any rental or company markings.
• Look for cameras. Many businesses along Lankershim, Ventura and Van Nuys boulevards have cameras facing the street, and footage overwrites within weeks.
• Get a police report from LAPD North Hollywood Division or, in Sherman Oaks, LAPD Van Nuys Division, and tell the officer the courier was working for an app.
• See a doctor the same day and tell the provider what hit you or what you were riding.

The North Hollywood and Sherman Oaks angle

The NoHo Arts District, the restaurants along Magnolia and Lankershim, and Ventura Boulevard through Sherman Oaks generate the short deliveries where bike and scooter couriers concentrate. Nearby emergency rooms include Sherman Oaks Hospital on Van Nuys Boulevard and Providence Saint Joseph in Burbank. Our North Hollywood and Sherman Oaks pages cover the local police divisions and courthouses. Our office is in Chatsworth and we represent injured people throughout California.

Rideshare passengers are a different problem, because Uber and Lyft rides are governed by Public Utilities Code 5433 rather than the delivery rules above; see our post on being injured as a passenger in an Uber, Lyft or a friend’s car and our rideshare accident page.

Key points

• Prop 22’s $1,000,000 delivery-company liability coverage applies only to automobiles during engaged time and only where the car is not otherwise covered, so a pedestrian hit by a bike or scooter courier usually claims against the courier and the courier’s own policies; Uber states it carries no coverage for bikes, e-bikes or walking unless required by law.
• A courier hurt by a car has both an injury claim against the driver and Prop 22 occupational accident coverage under section 7455(a): medical up to at least $1,000,000 and disability at 66 percent of average weekly earnings for up to 104 weeks, for bike, scooter and walking couriers too.
• Your own UM/UIM insurer may try to offset Prop 22 benefits under section 7455(e), so the two claims should be coordinated.
• Vehicle Code 21235 bars motorized scooters from sidewalks and Vehicle Code 22411 caps them at 15 miles per hour; e-bike class rules under 312.5 affect fault and insurance.
• The app trip record proves engaged time and identifies the courier; demand it in writing early.

Frequently asked questions

If you were hurt by a delivery courier in North Hollywood or Sherman Oaks, or hurt while delivering, call Manoukian Law Firm at (818) 818-5031 or reach us through our contact page. Consultations are free and there is no fee unless we recover for you.