Electric Scooters Arrive in Ohio Cities: Who Is Liable When a Rider Is Hurt?

Published September 11, 2018 · Injury Law Basics

This year, rentable electric scooters began appearing on the sidewalks and street corners of some Ohio cities. You unlock one with a smartphone app, ride it across town at close to the speed of a bicycle, and leave it wherever the trip ends. They are cheap, convenient and fun. They are also producing a new kind of injury case, and the law has not fully caught up.

Whether you ride them or simply walk where they are ridden, it is worth knowing how responsibility is sorted out when someone gets hurt.

How Ohio law treats a scooter rider

Ohio's traffic code was written long before app-based scooters existed, and as of today it has no rules written specifically for stand-up electric scooters. (The "motor scooter" that appears in Ohio's traffic code is a different, seated kind of vehicle.) That means police, insurers and courts are left to fit scooters into existing categories, and the answer is not always clear.

The closest analogy is usually the bicycle. Under R.C. 4511.52, the traffic laws that apply to bicycles govern whenever a bicycle is ridden on a highway or a bicycle path, and a cyclist can be ticketed for a violation like any driver (without points on a driver's license). Under R.C. 4511.55, a cyclist rides as near the right side of the roadway as practicable, but need not hug the edge when that would be unsafe, for example to avoid parked cars, debris or surface hazards, or when the lane is too narrow to share safely. Expect insurers and courts to measure a scooter rider's conduct against rules like these.

Many cities also have their own ordinances about riding on sidewalks, and some are scrambling to write new rules for scooters. Where you were riding, and whether it was allowed, will matter in any claim.

When a car or truck hits a scooter rider

The most serious scooter injuries we expect to see are the same ones we see with cyclists: a driver turns left across the rider's path, opens a door into the lane, or passes too close. A rider on a small-wheeled scooter has no protection at all, and head injuries, broken wrists and arms, facial fractures and leg fractures are common.

A rider hit by a careless driver has the same basic claim as any crash victim: a negligence claim against the driver and his or her auto liability insurance. The driver's duties do not shrink because the rider was on a scooter. Ohio's three-foot passing rule for bicycles, the general duty to keep a lookout, and the rules for turning and yielding all frame what a careful driver should have done. Our page on bicycle, scooter and e-bike injuries covers these claims in more detail, and our car accident page explains how claims against drivers are proven.

When the scooter itself fails

Rental scooters live hard lives. They are ridden by strangers, left in the rain, knocked over and tossed around. Brakes wear, stems loosen, throttles stick and batteries fail. When a rider is thrown because the scooter malfunctioned, the potential defendants include:

• The rental company, for failing to inspect, maintain and pull damaged scooters out of service;
• The manufacturer, if the failure traces to a defect in design or manufacture; and
• Anyone else who was responsible for charging, repairing or redeploying the scooter.

Proving these claims requires the scooter itself, or at least its identification number and the company's maintenance history for it. That evidence is in the company's hands, and it needs to be requested quickly.

Potholes and road defects

Small wheels make scooters especially vulnerable to potholes, broken pavement and raised utility covers. Claims against a city for road defects are possible in Ohio, but they are subject to strict immunity rules and notice requirements, and they need careful investigation from the start.

The fine print in the app

Before your first ride, the app asked you to click "I agree" to a long rental agreement. These agreements commonly include:

• a waiver or release of claims against the company;
• an assumption-of-risk clause;
• a requirement that disputes go to private arbitration instead of court; and
• rules that the rider must inspect the scooter before each trip, wear a helmet, and ride only where local law allows.

These terms matter, but they are not the last word. Ohio courts read releases narrowly, and a click-through agreement between a rider and a scooter company does not bind a pedestrian or a driver who never signed it. Whether a particular clause will be enforced depends on its exact language and the facts, which is why the agreement in effect on the day of your ride should be saved and reviewed.

When a scooter rider hits a pedestrian

Scooters are also injuring people who never rode one: pedestrians struck on sidewalks and in crosswalks, and people who trip over scooters left lying across a walkway. A rider who hits a pedestrian can be liable for negligence. Depending on the facts, the rental company may also be responsible, for example if a scooter left blocking a sidewalk caused a fall. Pedestrians have strong rights under Ohio law, as our page on pedestrian and crosswalk injuries explains.

Whose insurance pays?

This is the most unsettled part of the picture. A scooter rider usually has no auto policy covering the scooter itself. Possible sources of coverage include:

• The at-fault driver's auto liability insurance, when a car caused the crash;
• Your own auto policy's uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, which may protect you as a pedestrian or non-motorist when an uninsured or underinsured driver hits you, depending on how your policy defines who and what is covered;
• Your own medical payments coverage, which I have explained in an earlier post, again depending on the policy's terms;
• Homeowner's or renter's liability coverage, which may cover a rider who injures a pedestrian, unless the policy excludes motorized vehicles; and
• The scooter company's own insurance, when the company's negligence or a defective scooter is to blame.

Expect insurers to argue that a scooter is a "motor vehicle" when that helps them deny coverage and something else when it does not. Policy language decides these questions, and it pays to have a lawyer read it.

What to save after a scooter crash

• Screenshots of the trip in the app: start and end times, route, and the trip receipt.
• The scooter's ID number (usually printed on the deck or handlebar) and photos of the scooter, especially any broken part.
• Photos of the scene, including the pavement, any pothole, and where vehicles were.
• Names and contact information of the driver, witnesses, and responding officers.
• A copy of the rental agreement as it appeared when you rode.
• Medical records from the first visit forward. Get checked even if you feel all right; head injuries are easy to miss.

What this means for you

Electric scooters are new, but the principles are not. Careless drivers are responsible for the riders they hit, companies are responsible for the equipment they rent, and riders are responsible for the pedestrians they hurt. What is new is the fine print, the insurance gaps, and the speed at which evidence disappears when a scooter is collected, recharged and sent back out the next morning.