E-Scooter Providers Bird, Lime Sued As Injuries Mount

AUSTIN, TEXAS — A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a group of people painting dock-less electric scooter providers Bird and Lime — both of which enjoy a brisk business in Austin — as negligent in several injuries resulting from use of the two-wheeled contraptions, according to published reports.

The lawsuit against the two biggest firms providing app-secured electric scooters for a per-minute riding fee filed on Friday accused the two biggest providers of "gross negligence" that's resulted in a number of injuries to both pedestrians and riders, according to a report in the Washington Post. The lawsuit also names scooter manufacturers Segway and Xiaomi.

The litigation was filed by eight individuals, but seeks class-action status, according to the report. It alleges that the fleet of vehicles provided by Bird and Lime comprises defective e-scooters, and the companies fail to provide adequate safety instruction for riders.

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Since Bird and Lime unleashed e-scooters across U.S. cities that include Austin, doctors' offices and emergency clinics have seen a rise in scooter rider injuries and two reported fatalities, according to the report.

The day after the lawsuit was filed, a man sustained potentially life-threatening injuries after falling off a motorized scooter near UT-Austin on Saturday night, medics said. The incident occurred at around 8:30 p.m. at West 29th and Guadalupe streets, Austin-Travis County EMS medics said on Twitter. The patient, a man estimated to be in his 40s, was rushed to Dell Seton Medical Center for treatment of injuries that were deemed serious and potentially life-threatening.

Two months before that incident, a woman in her 50s sustained critical injuries that were deemed potentially life-threatening after falling off a scooter while riding along the 1100 block of South Congress Avenue. Officials said the woman hit her head after running into a curb in the August incident.

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>>> Top image: Scooters left along Guadalupe Street between 30th and 31st streets on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018. Photo by Tony Cantú/Patch staff