Electric scooters represent a growing part of the diverse modes of transportation in Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder and other parts of Colorado. According to the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI), there are millions of e-scooter riders each year in the city alone. Their research indicates rapid recent growth in electric scooter use in Denver in the past year with expectations that growth will continue. With increasing e-scooter riders comes more scooter accidents and resulting injuries. Many people know after a car accident they should call the police, but what about an e-scooter? Let’s discuss what you should do if you’re injured in an electric scooter accident, including contacting our Denver electric scooter accident attorneys for a free case review.
Call the police
Like any other accident, it is important to call the police and file a police report. Calling the police after an electric scooter accident is important for several reasons.
First, calling 911 can bring emergency medical services to your location. You, or the driver of a vehicle involved in the crash, may need emergency treatment. Even if you do not leave in an ambulance, they can check you out and make sure you are safe to leave on your own.
Second, calling 911 or the police allows you to create a formal record of the e-scooter accident. When you pursue insurance claims for your injuries, it is vital that there is formal documentation of the collision. The car that hit you may have little or no damage, so it may be difficult to prove their was a collision without a police report.
Third, the police can document the scene. Along with a police report, the responding police officers can record video and photos of the scooter accident. Independent evidence from the police of who was involved in the electric scooter accident and the property damage to the car (and scooter) can help prove the accident occurred and how it occurred.
Why evidence of your electric scooter accident is important
Often drivers involved in electric scooter accidents do not tell their insurance company the truth about your accident, making it difficult to negotiate a fair settlement of your scooter accident claim. They may completely deny hitting you or tell the insurance company it was your fault. The driver’s insurer does not want to pay you anything, so they are happy to take advantage of their insured’s self-serving statements.
Calling the police and filing a report creates an independent record and independent source of evidence that the electric scooter accident occurred. This will be a big help for you and your Denver scooter accident lawyer. Sometimes electric scooter crashes leave no evidence on the car at all, so calling the police and gathering your own evidence can be critical to recovering maximum compensation for your injuries. This evidence can help prove the accident occurred and who may be responsible for your scooter accident injuries.
Don’t admit fault for the e-scooter accident
The police will investigate the electric scooter accident when they arrive, which includes talking to you. Often the police officers will ask you how the collision occurred and whether you might have caused the accident. You do not have to give them a formal statement, written or verbal, of what happened. Just report the facts as you know them.
Don’t make assumptions about what happened or what the other driver might have done. The police officer may conclude you were at fault based on what you think may have happened. The insurance company will use the police officer’s conclusion of fault against you if it helps deny your claim. Stick to the facts. Let your electric scooter accident attorney review the evidence and present your position on fault. Your attorney can review all of the evidence and assess the relevant scooter laws to determine who is at fault.
Gather information about your electric scooter accident
When it comes to a personal injury claim, the more evidence you have to support why the other party is at fault the more likely you will receive a fair outcome. In addition to contacting the police to create formal record, you should gather as much evidence and information as you can yourself.
After your electric scooter accident, assess whether you can safely move. If you feel pain, disorientation, or other new sensation, it may be best not to move. If you can move, try to obtain as much evidence on your own of the accident.
The police may not show up immediately and there is a risk the driver may flee or your scooter is moved. Witnesses may leave. The longer it takes to secure evidence of the electric scooter accident, the more likely you will lose the opportunity to secure it.
Try to collect the following evidence:
- Pictures of the scene, including the location of all vehicles involved (including your scooter) before anything is moved
- Contact info for any witnesses to the accident
- The exact location of the collision (photos will help)
- If hit by a car or other motor vehicle, the vehicle make and model, license plat number, the driver’s info including driver’s license number and insurance information
- Photos of any visible injuries to you, such as lacerations, scrapes and road rash
- If the accident involved a rented e-scooter, such as a Lime or Bird scooter, photos of the scooter and any identification for that scooter
Your scooter accident lawyer will collect this information to help determine liability for the crash and prove the accident caused your injuries.
Get medical attention for your accident injuries
After a scooter accident, you need to get medical attention right away. If you need emergency care on the scene, you absolutely need to call 911 so they can send an ambulance. If the EMTs recommend taking you to an emergency room, you should allow them. If they release you to your own transportation, you should get to an emergency room or urgent care right away.
Often e-scooter accidents result in serious injuries and you may not realize the extent of your injuries due to pain, shock and anxiety. Emergency rooms and urgent care facilities can assess the extent of your injuries and whether you may need emergency care. They can also give you a treatment plan and recommendations for what providers you need to see next.
Getting a medical evaluation right away also helps document your injuries from the accident. The sooner you create a formal record of your injuries, the harder it will be for the adjuster to deny the injuries or whether they occurred immediately after the scooter accident. If you wait weeks to seek an exam, the adjuster will almost certainly insist the injuries were caused by something else in between the accident and exam. The adjuster will also argue if you didn’t need treatment right away, you weren’t that badly injured.
Call a Denver scooter accident lawyer
An experienced Denver scooter accident lawyer can help you recover compensation for your injuries and financial losses. Insurance companies often deny or devalue electric scooter accident claims. The adjusters will take every opportunity to deny your claim entirely. If the driver blames you or denies the collision occurred, the adjuster will likely believe them. Your claim may be denied as “word versus word” without any real investigation by the insurance company. Adjusters also often do not understand the risk of severe injuries in e-scooter accidents. They are likely to question a client‘s injuries and medical bills just because they come from a scooter accident.
Often people do not know what to do for treatment or how to pay for medical treatment after an electric scooter accident. Your personal injury lawyer can help you understand your options and help you obtain treatment. Obtaining necessary and effective treatment is an important part of healing from the accident. It is also an important aspect of obtaining fair value for your case. The medical bills and associated treatment are important components of the damages of any personal injury claim.
What compensation can I recover for my electric scooter accident?
If your electric scooter accident injuries were caused by the negligence of another, you have the right to pursue the responsible party for compensation. You may have serious injuries resulting in tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills. You didn’t ask for the injuries or bills and you deserve to be made whole. In addition to economic damages, you can also recover non-economic damages for the harmful experience of the accident on your life.
Economic damages include:
- Past and future medical bills
- Lost past wages
- Loss of future earning potential
- Out of pocket transportation costs to obtain treatment
Non-economic damages include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
Your scooter accident lawyer will evaluate the damages specific to your case. Each client’s case involves different injuries and damages. You deserve to have your case evaluated and managed as a unique experience by your lawyer. At Front Range Injury Attorneys, we do not believe in a one size fits all approach to our clients. Your attorney will carefully consider your case and work hard to obtain maximum compensation for your injuries. Contact our law office for a free case review of your scooter accident case.
