By Danielle Newton. Last Updated 6th April 2023. This guide will explain how you can claim compensation after a scooter accident. If you’ve been involved in a scooter accident that has caused you harm, you could potentially claim compensation.
To make a scooter personal injury claim, you would need to prove that someone else’s negligence caused your injury. This is likely to mean someone has breached their duty of care towards you. This guide will look further into desirable evidence types and what duty of care means.
To start a personal injury claim, or just get free legal advice, get in touch with our team of advisors at any time. They will be able to assist you with specialised guidance and may even pass you on to a solicitor from our panel if they think your claim could have a good chance for success.
Read on to find out more about scooter accident claims. You could also get in touch with us directly to talk about starting a claim.
- Call us on 0800 408 7825
- Use our online contact form
- Use the live chat feature in the bottom right to get instant answers
Select A Section
- What Is A Scooter Accident?
- Causes Of Scooter Accidents
- Injuries Caused By Scooter Accidents
- How Common Are Scooter Accidents?
- Am I Eligible To Claim Compensation?
- Estimating Scooter Accident Claim Payouts
- Start A No Win No Fee Scooter Accident Claim
- Find Out More About Scooter Accident Claims
What Is A Scooter Accident?
A scooter accident can be classed as any accident involving a scooter, e-scooter, mobility scooter or moped. However, in this article, we will be focusing mainly on e-scooters and mopeds, as you would likely struggle to make a claim against a non-motorised or mobility scooter.
Some scooters are designated for road use, such as public e-scooters and mopeds. As such, riders should be covered by insurance, and they have a duty of care to other road users.
This means they should take all reasonably practicable steps to keep other road users safe. If these steps are not taken, accidents and subsequent injuries could occur. If you’re a scooter rider or another form of road user, and you’ve been injured in a scooter accident that wasn’t your fault, you could claim compensation.
It is also important to note that privately-owned e-scooters are not insured. The government class them as illegal to use on roads. If you’re in an accident involving a privately owned e-scooter, you would likely be unable to make a valid personal injury claim. Also, if you are caught using an e-scooter illegally, you could potentially face a fine and points on your licence.
Causes Of Scooter Accidents
Many different scenarios could cause scooter accidents. Some examples include:
- Being under the influence. This could include if a rider or driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, leading to reckless driving.
- Road defects. Potholes or loose stones in the road could potentially cause the scooter to veer off course.
- Dangerous or careless driving. If a driver or rider is not paying attention to the road or even speeding, this is likely to be dangerous to other road users.
For example, suppose a public e-scooter rider under the influence rode onto the pavement and knocked you down, causing you injury. In that case, you could potentially claim.
However, this list is not exhaustive. If you’ve been involved in a scooter accident caused by something else entirely, you could still be able to make a valid claim. If you get in touch with us today, one of our advisors could help you figure out if you could start a scooter accident claim.
Injuries Caused By Scooter Accidents
Scooter accidents could potentially cause a variety of injuries. This could include, but is not limited to:
- Fractured and broken bones
- Nerve damage
- A concussion or other head injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Back or spine injuries
- Laceration injuries and scars
For example, suppose you’re on a moped, and a car sideswipes you by accident. In that case, the potential fall from your scooter could cause traumatic brain injury, especially if there are other obstacles nearby, such as rocks or signpost poles that you could collide with.
However, if you were not seen to be wearing the correct protective gear as per the Road Traffic Act 1988, and that’s what caused the accident, you could not make a valid claim. But if a driver’s negligence caused your injuries, you could.
How Common Are Scooter Accidents?
The Department for Transport collates statistics each year on reported road accidents in Great Britain and who may be involved in them. These reported road accident statistics show that motorcycles that run at 50cc and under (such as mopeds), were involved in 1,128 out of 167,375 reported accidents in 2020. Of these, 288 were considered serious, and 837 were considered slight. However, even if you believe your injuries to be slight, you could potentially still make a claim.
The same statistics show that mobility scooters were involved in 189 reported accidents in 2020. Of these, 51 were considered serious, and 132 were considered slight. Again, though, you could potentially still make a claim. If you get in touch with our advisors, they can give you specific advice on making a valid claim if you were injured due to another road user’s negligence.
The graph below was created from government statistics on e-scooter accidents and shows how much different user groups were involved in them in Great Britain in 2020.
As you can see, the majority of casualties from e-scooter accidents in 2020 were e-scooter users themselves. According to the Government, they are considered a vulnerable user group, as a vehicle body does not protect them like some other road users.
Am I Eligible To Claim Compensation?
To be eligible to claim compensation, the accident and injuries need to have occurred as a result of someone breaching their duty of care towards you.
In order to prove that someone else’s negligence caused your injury, you could gather evidence. You could do this without a solicitor; however, a solicitor should provide you with specialised guidance to give you the best chance for success. Desirable evidence types could include:
- CCTV footage of the accident
- Medical records
- Police road traffic collision report
- Witness contact details, in order to take a statement at a later date
- Photographs of your accident or injury
To claim general damages (compensation for your injuries), you will also be obligated to attend an independent medical appointment. Your injuries will be assessed to see how severe they are and how much they may affect your life going forward. The medical professional will also give their opinion on whether the injuries are consistent with those seen after a scooter accident.
This will be key to evaluating your injuries and, therefore, your claim.
Estimating Scooter Accident Claim Payouts
You may wonder how compensation could be awarded for injuries that might be suffered in scooter accidents. Each claim is different, so our guide cannot tell you how much you could be eligible for. However, in this section, we look at how compensation is awarded in personal injury claims.
General Damages
If your claim is successful, compensation for the physical pain and mental suffering caused by the scooter injury is awarded under general damages. Legal professionals use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help value general damages. This document contains guideline compensation brackets for various injuries in differing severities.
Our table below contains figures from the JCG. It should only be used as guidance and is not illustrative of your settlement.
| Injury | Severity | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brain | Moderate (i) | £150,110 to £219,070 | This bracket may cover injuries that have resulted in a moderate to severe intellectual defecit with related speech and senses issues and a high risk of epilepsy. |
| Brain/Head | Minor | £2,210 to £12,770 | This bracket may include minimal brain damage (if any) and there may be a full recovery within a few weeks. |
| Back | Severe (ii) | £74,160 to £88,430 | This bracket may cover injuries such as nerve root damage, or others that have resulted in impaired mobility, bladder and bowel function, sexual issues and unsightly scarring. |
| Arm | Less Severe | £19,200 to £39,170 | This bracket may include injuries that have resulted in significant disabilities but a substantial amount of recovery has occurred or is expected. |
| Arm | (d) | £6,610 to £19,200 | This bracket may cover a simple fracture of the forearm. |
| Nose | (i) | £10,640 to £23,130 | This bracket may cover multiple or serious fractures that require several opreations and result in nerve damage or permanent issues with the airways. |
| Hand | Moderate | £5,720 to £13,280 | This bracket may include crush injuries, penetrating wounds and deep lacerations. |
Special Damages
Some claimants who suffered injuries in a scooter crash might be able to recover special damages as part of their personal injury claim. Special damages recover any financial losses caused by your injury. However, it is likely you will need to submit proof of your injury-related costs, such as receipts, invoices and payslips.
Examples of what you could recover under special damages include:
- Loss of earnings, this can include your present and future earnings as well as pension contributions.
- Medical expenses, such as prescriptions or even cosmetic surgery if this is required to cope with your injuries.
- Home adaptations, such as installing railings and a ramp.
Call our advisors for a free claim valuation. This will consider what you could claim under both general and special damages. They can also discuss what evidence you might need to submit to recover your expenses.
Start A No Win No Fee Scooter Accident Claim
If you’re thinking about starting a claim, you could be concerned about funding the work of a solicitor. A No Win No Fee agreement could be for you if this is the case.
Should a solicitor offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis, you won’t have to pay them for their work whatsoever if your claim does not succeed. You won’t even be required to pay any upfront or ongoing solicitor fees if your claim is successful.
If your claim does succeed, your solicitor will deduct a success fee from your compensation amount. Before taking on a case, a solicitor will let you know about their success fee, and it will only be deducted once your compensation is fully paid. The success fee is also legally capped so you can get the majority of the compensation.
To discuss No Win No Fee agreements or to see if you can start a scooter accident claim, get in touch with our team of advisors. If they pass you through to a solicitor from our panel, you could start your claim today.
- Call us on 0800 408 7825
- Use our online contact form
- Use the live chat feature in the bottom right to get instant answers
Find Out More About Scooter Accident Claims
Thank you for reading our guide on scooter accident claims. We hope it answered any questions you may have had. To find out more, please see more relevant links below.
How Much Compensation Could You Claim for a Motorcycle Accident? – An article looking at potential compensation after a motorcycle accident.
Public Cycle Path Accident Claims – A guide on making a claim after an accident on a public cycle path.
How Much Compensation for a Broken Wrist? – An article explaining how you could claim for a broken wrist.
The Highway Code – The guidelines for how all road users should behave safely on the roads.
E-Scooter Trails & Guidance – A government page explaining more about public e-scooters.
Request CCTV Footage – Government advice on requesting CCTV footage of yourself if you need it for a claim.
Thank you for reading our guide on scooter accident claims.
Article by AO
Publisher UI