File an E-Scooter Accident Lawsuit in Florida
A class-action lawsuit was filed against Bird, LimeBike, Xiaomi United States, Segway, and other e-scooter and rideshare companies in October 2018. Your eligibility to join this lawsuit rests on whether the injuries you sustained from an e-scooter accident were caused by circumstances similar to those described by the initial plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit.
Claims Made by the Original Plaintiffs in the E-Scooter Class-Action Lawsuit
After suffering injuries from electric scooters, a small group of California residents filed a class-action lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against rideshare companies Bird and LimeBik
es, along with the e-scooter manufacturers Xiaomi United States and Segway. The lawsuit claims that the defendants are guilty of gross negligence because they were aware of the inherent dangers in these vehicles and nevertheless deployed them in such a manner that facilitated injuries. The lawsuit also accuses the defendants of “aiding and abetting assault,” among other claims.
The lawsuit petitioned the court to allow the plaintiffs to represent other people who have been injured and/or damaged by the “unlawful practices and other acts and omissions of defendants.” This is how the class-action lawsuit came about.
How the E-Scooters Caused Injuries in the Original Class-Action Lawsuit Plaintiffs
To be included in a class-action lawsuit, your e-scooter injuries must have resulted from similar causes as what the original plaintiffs in the lawsuit experienced. To better understand your eligibility to join this class-action e-scooter lawsuit, you should be aware of the original plaintiffs and how they were injured by these devices, resulting in their filing of this lawsuit.
The original lawsuit names the following plaintiffs:
- Plaintiff “Lorenzo Francisco Borgia” – a Lime scooter crashed into him, causing serious damage to eight of the boy’s front teeth and requiring stitches on his lip.
- Plaintiff “Ogata” – She tripped over three Lime scooters that had been left on a sidewalk and broke her wrist and finger and also damaged her ribcage.
- Plaintiff Howell – She tripped over a Lime scooter abandoned in front of a shop door and sustained injuries to her hand, knees, pelvis, and lower back.
- Plaintiff “Bule” – A Bird scooter rider crashed into his car, causing damage to the vehicle.
- Plaintiff “Finkelstein” – He was riding a scooter that locked up, making the plaintiff lose control of the vehicle and fall off, thereby sustaining injuries to his ribcage, knees, elbow, hip, and buttocks.
- Plaintiff “Kojic” – A rider on a Bird scooter crashed into the plaintiff from behind, causing injuries to her toe, wrist, and knee.
- Plaintiff “Martinez” – She tripped over a Bird scooter left lying on a sidewalk and broke the fifth metatarsal on her left foot.
- Plaintiff “Petersen” – A rider on a Bird scooter crashed into him from behind, and he sustained a torn bicep distal tendon that required surgery.
- Plaintiff “Rosenthal” – The plaintiff suffers from a degenerative disease and arthritis and requires the use of handicapped parking, which, on multiple occasions was blocked by Bird and/or Lime scooters.
What to Do If You Have Been Similarly Injured by E-Scooters
Your Florida personal injury lawyer can review your case to determine how likely it is that the details of your e-scooter injury sufficiently match those described by the original plaintiffs in this class-action lawsuit.
The good news is, you do not have to join the lawsuit. Rather, you will be automatically included in the class action. Your attorney can connect you with the class-action lawyer to attach your name to the class registry. In so doing, you will automatically receive information about how you can share important evidence with the class-action attorneys and obtain your portion of the settlement.
You will be notified when the settlement is proposed (announcements about the proposed settlement will also appear in various media outlets), and you will receive a share of the final settlement amount.
A fund will also be created to distribute money to e-scooter accident victims of whom the class-action lawyers were unaware. All the victim needs to do is provide proof that the defendants caused their injuries.
Just Because You Are Eligible Does Not Mean You Should Join the Class-Action
If you receive a class-action notice in the Bird, Lime, et al. class-action lawsuit, you have the choice of whether to:
- Participate as a class member
- Opt out (decline participation in the lawsuit)
- Participate as a named plaintiff
Your e-scooter accident lawyer can explain some of the pros and cons associated with each of the above options and how they apply to your specific e-scooter accident in Fort Lauderdale.
Broad Overview of Benefits and Drawbacks
- By participating as a class member, you forfeit your rights to recover damages in a private personal injury lawsuit. If your injuries are severe, and you have a lot at stake with this lawsuit, a personal injury lawsuit might be an avenue you will want to eventually pursue.
- If you opt out, you will need to follow specific instructions on your notice and do so by a certain deadline. Your e-scooter accident lawyer can help you with this process. By opting out, you leave yourself free to file a private personal injury lawsuit where you may possibly recover more damages than you would as a class member who will receive only a share of the total settlement amount.
- If you want to participate as a named plaintiff, you will need to hire a mass tort lawyer who can have you named as a party in the lawsuit.
Talk to an E-Scooter Accident lawyer at the Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato
If you suffered an e-scooter injury from an accident, you have options for recovering damages. Call a Florida personal injury lawyer from the Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato to discuss your case in a free consultation. Call us at (954) 633-8270.
