Miami E-Bike and Scooter Accident Lawyer
Electric bikes and scooters have changed the way people get around Miami. Residents use them to commute, make deliveries, travel short distances, and avoid parking. Tourists rent them to explore Miami’s neighborhoods and waterfront areas. On crowded streets, an e-bike or scooter can seem like an easy alternative to getting behind the wheel.
But when a rider is hit by a car, there is little protecting that person from the impact.
At Sotolongo Law, we represent people injured in e-bike and scooter accidents in Miami and throughout South Florida. These crashes can involve distracted drivers, unsafe turns, vehicles crossing bike lanes, opening car doors, dangerous intersections, and disputes about where the rider was legally permitted to travel.
Miami-e-bike and scooter accident lawyer Pedro P. Sotolongo has more than 20 years of personal injury legal experience, including five years practicing medical malpractice defense while developing an understanding of medicine that continues to shape how our firm handles serious injury cases.
Every lawyer knows the law. Not every lawyer understands the medicine. For an e-bike or scooter rider facing a traumatic brain injury, fracture, spinal injury, or other serious condition, that distinction can matter.
Sotolongo Law provides the personal attention of a boutique firm while being prepared to take on major insurance companies and other powerful defendants.
Because We Care®.
E-Bikes and Scooters Are Part of Miami Traffic
E-bikes and electric scooters occupy an unusual position on Miami’s transportation network.
They are smaller and more maneuverable than automobiles, but they may travel much faster than a pedestrian. Riders can move between areas with cars, bicycles, and pedestrians while remaining difficult for motorists to see.
Florida law generally gives an electric bicycle and its operator the rights and duties applicable to a conventional bicycle. State law permits e-bikes where bicycles are allowed, including streets, roadways, shoulders, bicycle lanes, and bicycle or multiuse paths, although local governments and agencies retain authority to impose certain restrictions.
Florida similarly gives operators of motorized scooters and micromobility devices many of the rights and duties applicable to bicycle riders, while allowing local governments to regulate their operation.
That local authority matters in Miami, where rules can depend on the particular roadway and municipality.
For an accident claim, the location of the collision can therefore be important not only for determining how the crash happened but also for evaluating which traffic rules applied.
Common Causes of Miami E-Bike and Scooter Accidents
Many serious crashes happen because a motorist fails to recognize that an e-bike or scooter rider is already occupying part of the roadway.
Common causes include:
- Drivers turning across a bike lane;
- Distracted driving;
- Failure to yield at an intersection;
- Running a red light or stop sign;
- Unsafe lane changes;
- Speeding;
- Driving under the influence;
- Vehicles entering or leaving driveways;
- Drivers failing to check before opening a door;
- Vehicles backing from parking spaces;
- Following a rider too closely; and
Drivers failing to look for riders before turning.
Visibility can be an important issue.
A driver may glance for approaching cars but fail to notice a smaller e-bike or scooter. That does not necessarily excuse the driver’s failure to keep a proper lookout.
Motorists and micromobility riders share Miami’s transportation system. Determining negligence requires examining what each person was doing before the collision.
Right-Turn and Left-Turn Accidents
Intersections create particular risks for e-bike and scooter riders.
A motorist making a right turn may cross a bike lane without recognizing that a rider is approaching alongside the vehicle. A driver turning left may see a gap in automobile traffic but fail to notice an e-bike approaching from the opposite direction.
The result can be a violent side-impact collision.
These cases may turn on questions of visibility, right-of-way, traffic signals, vehicle speed, and the positions of the car and rider immediately before impact.
Evidence from nearby cameras can be particularly valuable. Miami intersections are often surrounded by condominiums, hotels, stores, parking garages, restaurants, office buildings, and residences. Surveillance or security cameras may have captured a crash or the moments leading up to it. Those recordings may be overwritten, making early investigation important.
Bike-Lane Accidents
A painted line tells cyclists where to ride and drivers where to stay away, but it does not physically protect an e-bike or scooter rider from a vehicle weighing several thousand pounds.
Drivers may enter bike lanes when turning, parking, picking up passengers, making deliveries, or maneuvering around traffic. A motorist may also drift into a bike lane because of distraction. In other cases, an obstruction forces a rider out of the bike lane and into ordinary traffic.
When a crash happens in or near a bicycle lane, investigators may need to determine where each vehicle was traveling, whether the driver crossed the lane, whether the rider was visible, and whether any obstruction contributed to the collision. Photographs of the roadway can help document lane markings, signs, sightlines, construction, parked vehicles, and other conditions that may later change.
Dooring Accidents
One hazard is unique to people traveling close to parked vehicles: a door suddenly opening into their path.
An e-bike rider can be thrown over an open door or forced into moving traffic while attempting to avoid it. Scooter riders face similar dangers.
Florida law prohibits opening a vehicle door on the side available to moving traffic unless doing so is reasonably safe and can be done without interfering with traffic.
Dooring accidents can cause severe injuries even without a second vehicle directly striking the rider. A rider may hit the door, be thrown onto the pavement, or fall into an adjacent traffic lane.
Evidence concerning where the vehicle was parked, how far the door opened, the rider’s path, and surrounding traffic can become important when determining responsibility.
Injuries Can Be Severe Even at Lower Speeds
An e-bike or scooter rider does not have a passenger compartment, seat belt, or surrounding vehicle structure to absorb the force of a collision.
When a crash happens, the rider may first be struck by the vehicle and then hit the pavement. A rider can also be thrown into another vehicle, curb, pole, or other fixed object.
Potential injuries include:
- Traumatic brain injuries and concussions;
- Facial and dental injuries;
- Neck and back injuries;
- Spinal cord injuries;
- Shoulder injuries;
- Broken wrists and arms;
- Hip and pelvic fractures;
- Leg and ankle fractures;
- Knee injuries;
- Internal injuries;
- Severe cuts and abrasions; and
Nerve damage.
Some of these injuries can require surgery and months of rehabilitation.
A rider who initially believes the accident caused only bruising may later learn that persistent headaches, numbness, weakness, or joint pain reflect a more significant condition. Appropriate medical evaluation is important after a serious collision.
The Medical Side of an E-Bike or Scooter Injury Claim
The medical evidence often becomes one of the most important parts of a serious accident case.
Pedro P. Sotolongo spent five years practicing medical malpractice defense. That experience taught him to analyze medical records, understand diagnoses and treatment, communicate with doctors, and work with medical experts.
Today, that background benefits the injured people Sotolongo Law represents.
Every personal injury case has a medical component. In an e-bike or scooter accident, the medical questions may involve orthopedic surgery, neurological symptoms, brain injuries, fractures, rehabilitation, or permanent impairment.
We want to understand more than the name of the diagnosis. How has the injury changed the client’s ability to work? Is another surgery likely? Will there be permanent restrictions? What does the imaging show? What future care do the doctors anticipate? Those questions can be critical when an insurance company attempts to minimize an injury.
Insurance Issues After an E-Bike or Scooter Crash in Miami
Insurance can become complicated in micromobility accidents because an e-bike or scooter is not simply another automobile.
Florida law does not subject qualifying e-bikes to ordinary motor vehicle licensing, registration, or financial responsibility requirements. Motorized scooters and micromobility devices similarly are not subject to certain motor-vehicle registration and insurance requirements under Florida law.
That does not mean an injured rider has no source of recovery.
When a negligent motorist causes the crash, the driver’s automobile insurance may become an important source of compensation. Depending on the circumstances, other insurance policies or responsible parties may also need to be investigated.
Coverage questions can be particularly important when injuries are catastrophic or the negligent driver has inadequate insurance.
Rather than assuming a particular policy applies, Sotolongo Law can investigate the vehicles, people, companies, and insurance involved.
Rental E-Scooter and E-Bike Accidents
Miami visitors and residents may use devices obtained through rental companies or other providers.
A rental accident can raise additional questions. Was another driver responsible? Did the device malfunction? Was there a brake, wheel, steering, or battery problem? Did the rider encounter a dangerous roadway condition? What does the rental agreement provide?
The fact that a device was rented does not automatically make the rental company responsible for an accident. If a potential mechanical defect contributed to a serious crash, however, preserving the e-bike or scooter can become important. Repairing, returning, or disposing of the device before it can be inspected may result in the loss of valuable evidence.
Comparative Fault and Rider Conduct
Insurance companies are often quick to blame an e-bike or scooter rider for a collision. An insurer might claim the rider entered the roadway improperly, failed to obey a traffic signal, traveled against traffic, was not sufficiently visible, or violated a local operating rule. Those allegations need to be evaluated against the actual evidence.
Florida uses a modified comparative fault system for negligence claims. A claimant’s recoverable damages can be reduced according to his or her percentage of responsibility, and claimants found more than 50 percent responsible for their own harm generally cannot recover damages at all, subject to statutory exceptions.
That law makes determining what rules applied at the specific accident location particularly important. Video, witnesses, photographs, electronic information, and physical evidence can help establish what actually happened rather than allowing the claim to depend solely on a driver’s version of events.
A Miami Boutique Firm That Understands Serious Injuries
Sotolongo Law combines the personal service of a boutique practice with experience handling claims involving major insurers and complicated medical issues. Attorney Pedro P. Sotolongo has more than 20 years of personal injury legal experience. His five years practicing medical malpractice defense developed his ability to understand the medicine behind an injury case.
We also serve all of Miami’s diverse Spanish-speaking families including Cuban, Venezuelan, Nicaraguan, Argentinian, and other Latin American and Hispanic communities throughout South Florida. Clients should be able to communicate comfortably with their legal team and understand what is happening with their case.
Whether someone was riding an e-bike to work, using a scooter to get around the neighborhood, making deliveries, or exploring Miami while on vacation, that person deserves to have the circumstances of a serious collision investigated carefully.
That is what Because We Care® means to us.
Frequently Asked Questions About E-Bike and Scooter Accidents in Miami
Can I ride an e-bike in a Florida bike lane?
Florida law generally allows an e-bike to be operated where conventional bicycles are allowed, including streets, roadways, shoulders, bicycle lanes, and bicycle or multiuse paths. Local governments and agencies can impose certain restrictions, however, so the specific location matters.
Do I need a driver’s license or registration to operate an electric scooter in Florida?
Under current Florida law, a person is not required to have a driver’s license to operate a qualifying motorized scooter or micromobility device, and those devices are not subject to specified motor-vehicle registration and insurance requirements.
Does Florida require e-bike riders to wear helmets?
Florida’s bicycle statute requires bicycle riders and passengers under age 16 to wear a properly fitted qualifying bicycle helmet. E-bike riders generally have the rights and duties applicable to bicycle riders. Local rules can also matter, and wearing a helmet is an important safety measure regardless of whether the rider is legally required to do so.
Can I recover compensation if I was partly responsible for the accident?
Potentially. Florida’s comparative fault rules can reduce a claimant’s damages according to the percentage of responsibility assigned to that person, and a claimant found more than 50 percent responsible for his or her own harm generally cannot recover anything. Determining whether a rider actually violated a traffic rule and whether that conduct contributed to the crash requires looking at the specific evidence, not simply accepting what the driver’s insurance company says.
Contact a Miami E-Bike and Scooter Accident Lawyer at Sotolongo Law
E-bike and scooter riders have little protection when they are struck by a motor vehicle. A collision that lasts only seconds can lead to surgery, rehabilitation, lost income, and medical problems that continue for years.
If you or someone you love was injured while riding an e-bike, electric scooter, or other micromobility device in Miami or elsewhere in South Florida, Sotolongo Law can investigate how the accident happened, identify applicable traffic and insurance rules, preserve evidence, and develop the medical proof necessary to document your injuries.
Pedro P. Sotolongo brings more than 20 years of personal injury experience and a background in medical malpractice defense to serious accident cases. Our boutique firm provides clients with personal attention while being prepared to stand up to major insurance companies and other defendants.
Contact Sotolongo Law today for a free consultation with a Miami e-bike and scooter accident lawyer. You will not owe attorney’s fees unless we obtain a recovery for you.