If you’ve been injured in an accident involving an e-scooter then you may be able to make a claim for compensation. It doesn’t matter whether you were riding the e-scooter at the time, or were injured as a pedestrian or fellow road user.

E-scooter accident claims are based on the negligence of a third party. This could be a local authority failing to maintain a driving surface, an e-scooter rider not paying attention to a pedestrian or another road user hitting an e-scooter.

If you’ve been involved in an e-scooter accident then we’re ready and waiting to take your call. We’ll listen to the details during an initial free consultation, and explain whether you meet the criteria for e-scooter accident claim eligibility using clear, jargon-free language.

As experts in the no win no fee e-scooter claim process we’ll guide you through that process one step at a time, working by your side and providing empathetic support as well as expert legal advice. If the negligence of a third party resulted in you being injured in an e-scooter accident then we’ll work with you to claim the compensation you deserve.

Understanding E-Scooters and UK Law

It is currently legal to ride rental e-scooters in the UK, but against the law to ride a privately owned e-scooter on a public highway. Anyone riding an e-scooter has to have a driving licence.

The rental operator providing the e-scooter has a legal obligation to provide insurance as part of any rental agreement. Although e-scooters of this kind are legal, they should only be ridden on a cycle lane or along the side of the road, and never on the pavement.

The government’s guidance sets out the rules for what is currently still a trial period for the use of e-scooter on UK highways, although it is a trial period which has been extended several times already. This guidance includes the fact that the maximum legal speed for an e-scooter is 15.5 mph, although some illegally ridden private e-scooters can travel at twice this speed.

The question of responsibility in e-scooter accident claims depends upon the nature of the accident. If the e-scooter was travelling at more than 15.5 mph then the driver was breaking the law and will be responsible for any accident.

The same applies if the driver of an e-scooter behaves negligently, i.e. by running a red light, going the wrong way up a one way street or riding on the pavement.

Responsibility when an accident involves a collision between an e-scooter and another vehicle will depend upon the precise circumstances of the accident, and the same applies when an e-scooter collides with a pedestrian.

If an e-scooter accident is caused by a poor road surface – if the e-scooter crashes due to an unrepaired pot hole, for example – then the rider of the e-scooter may be able to make a claim against the relevant local authority.

If you rent an e-scooter and have an accident due to mechanical failure than you may be able to make a claim against the rental operator, who had a duty of care toward you as their customer.

In all cases, a claim made against a privately owned and ridden e-scooter will be more difficult to pursue because the rider won’t be covered by the kind of public liability insurance taken out by rental operators. Claims against uninsured road-users aren’t impossible, however, since uninsured private e-scooters are covered by the Road Traffic Act 1988.

This means that a claim could be made from the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) a fund created to provide compensation for those injured in accidents caused by uninsured or untraceable road-users. Claiming through the MIB without a specific party to claim against could mean the process is more complex, making it more important than ever to seek expert legal advice from the team at Truth Legal.

In simple terms, you may be eligible to make an e-scooter accident claim in the following circumstances:

• Another party owed you a duty of care. This other party could be the rider of an e-scooter, another road user, or someone, like a local authority, responsible for poor driving conditions.
• You had an accident involving an e-scooter because of the negligence of this other party
• You suffered injuries as a result of that accident

Making A Successful Scooter Claim

There are several steps to establishing your personal injury claim. By law, you must prove:

1. There was a duty of care – Whoever you are claiming against must have owed a duty of care towards you. Road-users owe duties of care to one another so this is rarely a problem in scooter accident claims.
2. This duty was breached – The party you are claiming from must have failed in their duty of care. An example would be a motorist pulling out from a side road without properly checking if it was safe to do so.
3. Causation – The breach mentioned above must have caused your injuries and other losses. To continue the previous example, if the motorist who pulled out from the side road collided with your scooter, any injuries you sustain from the collision can be said to have been caused by the motorist’s breach of duty.
4. Reasonable injuries and losses – The compensation you are claiming must be reasonable. Excessive amounts or losses you incurred without a reasonable basis will be very difficult to recover.

Successfully establishing your scooter claim can be challenging, although much depends on whether the party from whom you are claiming seeks to dispute any parts of your case. With experienced specialist solicitors acting for you, however, the chances of securing the right compensation are much greater.

How much compensation can I get for an e scooter claim?

The compensation awarded for a successful e-scooter accident claim could range from a few thousand pounds to more than a hundred thousand, depending on the injuries suffered and the impact on your life.

The final amount will be broken down into general damages and special damages.

General Damages in e scooter claims

General damages are meant to reflect the pain and suffering you’ve been through using the following criteria:

• The part of your body that has been injured and how severe the injury is
• The degree to which you are expected to recover in the future
• Loss of amenity – this is a phrase which describes the way in which an injury stops you from living a full life, by preventing you enjoying things like hobbies and leisure activities or undertaking simple day to day tasks

The amount will be decided with the help of a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a guide which sets out recommended ranges for particular injuries.

The impact of an e-scooter accident could range from minor cuts and bruises to serious and life changing injuries.

Some of the recommended amounts from the latest edition of the JCG are as follows:

• A back injury with full recovery expected within three months – up to £2,990
• A severe back injury with a permanent impact -£47,320 to £196,450
• A severe neck injury including fractured or damaged discs –  £55,500 to £159,770
• A fractured index finger causing permanent symptoms – £11,120 to £14,930
• An elbow injury, which is not severely disabling but resulting in long term issues –  £15,370 to £39,070
• An elbow injury which doesn’t cause long term issues – up to £15,370
• A fracture or soft tissue wrist injury where recovery takes longer than 12 months but is complete or largely complete save for minor symptoms – £7,420 – £12,630
• A serious injury to your foot leading to continuing pain- £30,500 to £47,840

As your e-scooter accident claim solicitors we’ll be able to estimate how much your general damages are likely to be throughout the process. We’ll make this calculation on the basis of the JCG, medical examinations and our in-depth experience of accident compensation claims.

Special Damages in e scooter claims

Special damages  are intended to make sure that you are not made financially worse off by the accident and your injuries. The amount will include a reimbursement of any earnings you’ve lost because you weren’t able to work, had to work less, or had to switch to a lower paid job because of your injuries.

In addition, special damages are intended to cover expenses such as the following:

• Any medical expenses, such as doctor’s bills and prescription charges
• Any money you have to spend buying in care because of your injuries
• Any money you have to spend on specialised equipment as a result of your injuries – such as a mobility scooter, crutches, a walking frame or a wheelchair
• Any money you have to spend adapting your home or your vehicles on the basis of the injuries you’ve suffered
• Any travel costs directly linked to your injuries – such as travel to and from medical examinations
• Any money spent on physical therapy or counselling needed because of your injuries

The basic principle of special damages is that they can cover any money which you wouldn’t have spent if you hadn’t been injured in an e-scooter accident.

No Win No Fee e scooter Claims

We handle e-scooter accident claims on a no win no fee basis. In simple terms this means two things:

• You won’t have to make any up-front payments when starting your claim
• You’ll be able to keep the majority of any compensation which you are awarded

The no win no fee process is designed to make it possible to seek the compensation you are entitled to without worrying about spiralling legal costs. After an initial 30 minute consultation, which is provided free of charge, we’ll decide whether you have a good case for claiming compensation.

If you do then we’ll build the case without charging, including gathering evidence, taking witness statements, taking your own account of the accident and your injuries and arranging medical assessments. If the claim is ultimately successful we will take a ‘success fee’ which will be no more than 25% of the compensation you’ve been awarded.

The rest of our legal fees will have to be paid by the other party in the case. In the event of a claim being unsuccessful, the legal costs of other parties will be covered by After the Event (ATE) insurance. We encourage our clients to take out ATE insurance at the start of the process, although in some cases existing insurance – such as home or car policies – might provide cover.

Throughout the no win no fee e-scooter claim process you can work with us to build the strongest possible case safe in the knowledge that you won’t be out of pocket at any point. We believe in the right to pursue fair compensation for injury without having to worry about the cost, and no win no fee makes this possible.

Common E-Scooter Accidents and Claims

Common e-scooter accidents and claims include falling from an e-scooter, colliding with a pedestrian and being hit by a motor vehicle.

According to figures published by the government, the total number of e-scooter accidents per year has risen annually from 460 in 2020 to 1,720 in 2023.

Other government publications point out that even these figures are likely to be subject to under-reporting. Statistics also reveal that 70% of e-scooter injuries involve e-scooter riders themselves, while 18% involve pedestrians, 7% cyclists, 3% motorcyclists and 2% other road users.

The number or e-scooter accidents annually, combined with the range of different circumstances involved, means that e-scooter accident claims can cover a broad spectrum of incidents and injuries. Common e-scooter accident claims include the following:

• Falling from an e-scooter due to mechanical failure – in this case a compensation claim would be made against the e-scooter rental company
• Falling from an e-scooter due to a poor road surface – if you fall from your e-scooter and injure yourself after hitting a pothole, for example, you may be able to make a claim against the local authority responsible for maintaining the highways
• A pedestrian being hit by an e-scooter – if the collision was caused by the negligence of the person riding the e-scooter a compensation claim could be made. A rented e-scooter will be covered by liability insurance carried by the rental company.

If you were injured when you were hit by a privately owned e-scooter which didn’t have any insurance, on the other hand, then you may still be able to claim compensation from the MIB.

• A collision between a cyclist and an e-scooter – follow a collision of this kind either party may be able to make a claim for compensation, dependent upon the circumstances and whether the cyclist or e-scooter rider behaved negligently
• A collision between a motorist and an e-scooter – a collision of this kind could be subject to a compensation claim if it can be shown that the driver of a car behaved negligently when colliding with an e-scooter

If you’ve been injured in an accident of any kind involving an e-scooter then please contact the team at Truth Legal. We’ll take the details of your case and explain where the legal liability in e-scooter accidents lies and whether there are grounds to seek compensation.

Causes and Prevention of E-Scooter Accidents

Understanding what causes e-scooter accidents will help you to avoid having an accident of your own. If you’ve already had an accident, the common causes listed here might make it easier to figure out why your accident happened, and who was responsible.

E-scooter accidents range from a pedestrian tripping over a badly parked e-scooter to an e-scooter rider being hit and knocked down by a car. Many privately owned e-scooters can travel at up to 30 mph and have only limited braking capacity, which makes them dangerous to pedestrians and other road users such as cyclists.

Common causes of e-scooter accidents include the following:

• Distracted riders – activities such as texting, phoning and even listening to headphones can distract the rider of an e-scooter from paying full attention to other road users and pedestrians.
• Preventative measures – Check blind spots, monitor surroundings, wear protective items such as a helmet, stay aware of the behaviour of other drivers, watch out for traffic signals and wear reflective, high-visibility items, especially in poor light conditions.
• Poor road surface – the size of an e-scooter means that riders are especially vulnerable to issues such as potholes, debris on the road or uneven paving.
• Preventative measures – although the condition of the highways is out of your control as an e-scooter rider, you can still take some steps to keep yourself safer. These include slowing down if the road surface is uneven, planning the route in advance to avoid known hazards, avoiding heavy traffic and unfamiliar routes where possible and setting out earlier to be able to ride more slowly.
• Poor lighting – if you ride an e-scooter at night it might be difficult for other road users and pedestrians to see you. Street lighting may not always be sufficient, and even if your e-scooter has built in lighting it might not be good enough to make you easily visible.
• Preventative measures – wear brightly coloured clothing, make sure that any lights built into the e-scooter are working and wear a reflective vest and other clothing.
• Mechanical failures – a mechanical failure on your e-scooter, such as worn tires, faulty brakes or a malfunctioning motor could cause an accident no matter how careful you are as a rider.
• Preventative measures – an e-scooter rental company has a duty of care to make sure that the e-scooters they rent out are mechanically sound. This will include charging the battery on a regular basis, tightening all nuts, bolts and screws, replacing any bulbs which stop working, storing the e-scooter in a covered, dry area, cleaning the motor housing and checking the tire pressure.

As a user, before riding an e-scooter you should examine the tyres for any cracks, worn tread and punctures, test the brakes and make sure that any lights function before setting off.

• Collisions – collisions with other vehicles are always a risk if you use an e-scooter, and the fact that a scooter offers little protection to the rider means that any collisions – even at low speed – can cause serious injury.
• Preventative measures – although there’s little you can do about neglectful behaviour from other road users, there are steps you can take to try and avoid being hit and to minimise the impact if you are.

These steps include wearing a helmet, dressing as visibly as possible, using hand signals when cornering, making eye contact with other road users and trying to anticipate the likely actions of drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

How to make an E-Scooter Accident Claim

The e-scooter accident claim process can be long and complex, so the team at Truth Legal break it down into simpler individual steps:

1. Seek medical attention immediately following an e-scooter accident. Prompt medical treatment will increase your chance of making the most complete recovery possible. In addition, seeking medical help will create an official record of the accident and the injuries you’ve suffered, detailing when and where the e-scooter accident took place and how severe the immediate injuries were.
2. If there are any witnesses to the accident take their contact details. Their evidence may help to demonstrate that the accident was caused by another party acting in a negligent manner.
3. If your e-scooter was hit by a motor vehicle, collect information on the driver if possible, including any insurance details. If this isn’t possible – for example if the driver doesn’t stop – note down the type and colour of the vehicle and, where possible, the number plate.
4. You should report the accident to the e-scooter rental company as soon as you can. They should have a formal process in place for reporting any kind of accidents involving their scooters. If not, put the details down in writing in the form of an email and send it to them in order to create a written record of the accident.
5. If you think the accident may have been caused by the negligence of another party, get in touch with the team at Truth Legal. We’ll provide an initial 30 minute consultation free of charge, during which we’ll explain whether we think you have grounds to seek compensation. If we think you could claim compensation we’ll gather the relevant evidence. This could include photographic evidence of the place where the accident happened and/or of the e-scooter itself, your own account of the accident and what caused it, statements from any witnesses to the accident and the circumstances that caused the accident. If the location of your e-scooter accident was covered by CCTV cameras we’ll request the footage from the relevant body.
6. We will arrange a medical assessment of your injuries. This will allow us to build a full picture of their nature and severity as well as the prognosis for a future recovery and the impact the accident has had on your ability to live your life. We will also access your medical records, with your permission, to record any treatment you’ve received as a result of your injuries.
7. Once we’ve gathered the evidence we’ll inform the relevant body of your intention to seek compensation. For e-scooter accident claims this might be the rider of an e-scooter, the company from whom an e-scooter was rented, another road user, a local authority with responsibility for the roads or the MIB. We’ll present the strongest possible case, intended to persuade the other party to admit liability and offer compensation.
8. If a compensation offer is made we’ll explain whether it is fair on the basis of our experience and track-record. If we think that you are actually entitled to more compensation we’ll go back to the other party and negotiate for a better offer.
9. If the other party denies liability or refuses to make a fair offer then the claim will have to be decided in court. If this happens we will provide legal representation, and our experience of handling e-scooter accident claims will prove to be extremely valuable in court.

How long does an e scooter claim take?

An e-scooter accident claim can take around 6 months if the accident is fairly simple and up to 1-2 years for more complex cases with multiple injuries. When you start a compensation claim with us our specialist team will provide you with an estimated timeframe.

If a claim goes to court the process will take longer, not least because you may have to wait for a court space to become available. The good news is that the majority of e-scooter accident claims are settled without having to go to court.

In some cases the other party may admit liability quickly but the complexities of your injuries and the future prognosis means that reaching an agreed settlement takes longer. When this happens we may be able to seek interim payments to meet on-going expenses such as medical costs until a final settlement is reached.

Any interim payments awarded will then be deducted from the final amount of compensation. When working on your case we will always keep you fully informed of exactly how long we think it will take for a settlement to be reached, communicating in a clear and transparent manner.

Why Our Law Firm is the Right Choice for Your E-Scooter Claim

Truth Legal is the right law firm for your e-scooter claim because we’re experts when it comes to winning personal injury compensation.

We know exactly the amount and type of evidence needed to maximise the chances of success.

We also work in an empathetic and supportive manner – we understand how upsetting and stressful being injured in an e-scooter accident of any kind can be, and also how daunting taking legal action can feel.

Throughout the no win no fee process we’ll communicate in clear, easily understood language, avoiding the kind of jargon and ‘legalese’ that people often find off-putting. We’ll be ready and waiting to answer any questions you have at any time, and will keep you fully informed on vital questions such as how long the claim might take and the compensation we estimate you could receive.

We’re used to dealing with insurance companies and bodies such as local authorities and the MIB. We’ll argue on your behalf and build a compelling case – take a look at our case studies page for multiple examples of successful claims of this kind which led to our clients receiving thousands of pounds in compensation.

If you’d like to start an e-scooter accident claim, or have questions about an accident you were involved in, please call us on 0330 314 1300, send an email to enquiries@truthlegal.com or simply fill in our contact form.

If you’d like to know more about claiming with us, read our blog:

Further reading

Read our extensive guide for more information on how to make a road traffic accident claim.