Lawsuit Accuses Bird, Lime Scooters Of 'Gross Negligence'

SANTA MONICA, CA – A class action lawsuit is among the latest push back of popular electric scooter companies Bird and Lime. The suit was filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court Friday, and accuses the two largest e-scooter companies, as well as other e-scooter businesses of "gross negligence" and "aiding and abetting assault," the Los Angeles Times reported.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of those claiming to have been injured on the scooters, including three who claim riders crashed into them from behind, and three more who said they tripped over scooters left on the sidewalk, according to KTLA.

“We filed this class-action lawsuit against Bird and Lime and the manufacturers of their electric scooters to address the terrible injuries they have inflicted on their riders and pedestrians, and the continuing harm they are causing,” Santa Monica personal-injury lawyer Catherine Lerer said, Curbed LA reported.

Lerer told Los Angeles Times she's received over 100 calls from people injured by the dockless mobility devices, with injuries ranging from head injuries to broken noses, legs, arms, wrists, hands and ribs. The scooter companies were named for "aiding and abetting assault" in the lawsuit, but the complaint also alleges that scooters left on sidewalks and streets is a “public nuisance” that is in violation of California Civil Code, Curbed LA reported.

The lawsuit alleges the scooters contain defective electronics and mechanical parts, but doesn't provide concrete evidence for those claims, according to the Times. It also alleges inadequate safety instructions for riders, and that the companies have "a wanton disregard for the safety of others." The risks posed by the scooters "were known and/or knowable" based on "professional knowledge" within the transportation community, the suit alleges.

One plaintiff said he "seriously damaged" eight of his front teeth, and another said he had to have surgery for a torn bicep tendon, KTLA said.

“I was struck from behind by a young man in a Bird scooter," David Peterson said at a news conference Monday. "My right arm was broken and my right bicep was severed for my lower arm..."

These plaintiffs are representative of “scores (if not hundreds) of riders and pedestrians and members of the public [who] have suffered, are continuing to suffer and will to continue to suffer egregious and avoidable injuries and damage to their person and property,” the lawsuit stated.

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