What if you were just walking down the sidewalk and a scooter came along and hit you? It happens more often than you might think in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and other cities in the Bay Area.
Despite its small size, a scooter can cause severe injuries. And a pedestrian is extremely vulnerable to a sudden impact from a scooter that’s zipping along their path.
At Sally Morin Personal Injury Lawyers, many of us are frequent scooter riders and pedestrians right here in coastal California. That means we’re both professionally and personally invested in helping injured people like you.
Here’s What to Do After a Scooter Hits You
If you’re a pedestrian who’s been seriously injured by a scooter rider, get emergency medical assistance immediately and report the accident to the authorities. And don’t miss your opportunity to get the scooter user’s contact information before you leave the scene of the accident.
Next, you’ll need to determine who’s at fault, whether there is shared blame, and who’s going to be involved moving forward. Scooter accidents don’t always involve breaking the law and are often handled civilly through insurance claims. Hopefully the scooter rider has insurance or a scooter rental company provides insurance coverage.
However, at Sally Morin Personal Injury Lawyers, we’ve seen many instances where everyone involved says, “Not it!” about taking responsibility for the accident. Here’s an example.
We had a client who was walking down the street when they were hit by someone on a little rental scooter from a company like Bird. The scooter rental company didn’t want to take any responsibility for it because they said the person who rented the scooter signed away their rights in the rental contract.
This is a common tactic rental companies use to avoid accident liability – having the renter sign a waiver. To make the problem worse, scooter renters aren’t required to have any other kind of insurance. So after an accident, an injured victim struggles to get compensation.
Don’t Give Up. Get a Lawyer!
When everyone is giving you pushback about paying for your injuries, it’s definitely time to call a lawyer. A good pedestrian/scooter accident lawyer knows what it takes to make a successful case for compensation.
Plus, your lawyer can examine additional types of coverage that might kick in to help you. Maybe there’s a homeowner’s insurance policy that would offer some level of coverage. Maybe a city or county government holds partial responsibility for poor street design or a road hazard.
Your lawyer can help you investigate your accident and get to the bottom of liability and compensation. Whether you choose to pursue an insurance claim or start a lawsuit, it’s all easier with the help of a talented, experienced lawyer.
We Handle Your Accident Claim So You Can Focus on Your Life
After an accident, contact the attorneys at Sally Morin Personal Injury Lawyers. We handle many types of personal injury claims including scooter and pedestrian injuries. We believe you should be able to focus on recovering from your accident while we handle the legal details.
We truly care about the people of California. Contact us today for a free online case evaluation.
