The potential liability and injury risks of Lime scooters in Oklahoma
Lime Scooters
We’re going to talk about Lime scooters today and about possible liability and injuries related to those devices. I’m Oklahoma personal injury attorney Mike Ashworth with TulsaPersonalInjuryLawyer.Pro. My phone number is 918-924-5528.
Where my office is located in downtown Tulsa, we’re right by a major, major group of hotels. We are also by the Convention Center. We’re not far away from the BOK Center. And so we see outside my window daily dozens and dozens and dozens of Lime scooters and similar devices moving around. Now that’s new to me because I moved away from Tulsa and I had not been exposed to that until I got back here about two years ago.
But I can tell you I’ve seen a number of near misses between vehicle accidents, cars, and Lime scooters. One of the reasons is, as I understand the Lime scooter requirements, you must be at least 18 years or older to operate those because you have to be able to enter into a binding contract. Well, a minor, someone under the age of 18, cannot enter into a binding contract as a rule of thumb, as an overwhelming rule of thumb.
The Dangers of Minors Operating Lime Scooters
So that being said, I see these 12-year-old kids, 13-year-old kids, getting on these Lime scooters, zipping around, but they don’t possibly have an understanding of traffic flow, traffic patterns of cars, trucks, big trucks, little trucks, antitrucks, motorcycles. In addition, I will see them riding two to the scooter and I know that can’t be safe.
Now what happens if you use your account as a mom or dad or an uncle or friend so that little Billy or little Sally can get on the Lime scooter and go cruising around downtown Tulsa? What happens if they cause a wreck? Because of them, somebody gets into a wreck trying to avoid them because they’re driving recklessly or without having sufficient experience and then you T-bone somebody and they get badly injured.
Liability and Negligent Entrustment
Who’s going to be liable? Well, the person who was driving and hit the T-bone is going to have some degree of liability, but guess who else is going to have liability? Whoever allowed those kids to be entrusted with that scooter by accessing your account. That is something known as negligent entrustment and the principal liability and the hypothetical I just gave you, you’re the one who’s going to pay the majority, the lion’s share of any settlement or any verdict.
So I caution you on the Lime scooters. They look like fun and it reminds me of personal watercraft at Grand Lake. You just let your kids tool around within sight for a while at ages 10, 11, and 12 and it becomes like a pseudo babysitter. Not a good plan. Please do not do that, but if you do, or if your Lime scooter causes you to have a wreck, or if you’re on a Lime scooter and you are of lawful age and even if you’re not, you’re minding your own business, you’re tooling along on your scooter and somebody whacks into you because they weren’t paying attention, call me as well. It works both ways, two sides to every coin.
Contact Us for a Low-cost Consultation
Once again, my name is Mike Ashworth, I’m a personal injury lawyer in Tulsa. Reach out to me at TulsaPersonalInjuryLawyer.Pro or at 918-924-5528. Take advantage of our initial consultation to discuss your case and determine the best course of action. Your safety and rights are our priority.
