An electric scooter, or e-scooter, can be a fun and easy way to get around Carlsbad. E-scooters have become much more common in New Mexico since the debut of rentable electric scooters from brands such as Lime and Bird, which are available to anyone with a valid driver’s license. However, e-scooter accidents are also increasingly common.
At The Fine Law Firm, our Carlsbad personal injury attorneys represent electric scooter accident victims in Carlsbad during insurance claims and injury lawsuits. We can help you seek the financial compensation you deserve for your injuries, medical bills and other losses as an e-scooter crash victim. Contact us today to start with a free case consultation.
Why Choose The Fine Law Firm?
- We care about our clients and their futures. Your lawyer will work closely with you to pursue your goals for the case, answer your questions and make sure you have everything you need during this difficult time.
- Our attorneys have a long track record of success. We have recovered settlements and positive jury verdicts for our clients with a 99 percent success rate. This includes a $936K car accident settlement and an $850K settlement for a pedestrian accident victim.
- Our Carlsbad e-scooter accident attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. This means we only charge attorney’s fees if and when we win the case. You will pay us $0 upfront and take on zero of the financial risk of your case.
How Do Electric Scooter Accidents Occur?
Driver error is the number one cause of e-scooter accidents in Carlsbad. Electric scooters can easily be missed or overlooked by motor vehicle drivers – especially if a driver is distracted, drowsy or intoxicated. This can result in harmful vehicle-scooter collisions. Other causes include e-scooter mechanical failures and poor road conditions.
Common causes of electric scooter accidents include:
- Driver inattention
- Texting while driving
- Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Driving while drowsy or fatigued
- Violating traffic laws
- Speeding
- Following an e-scooter too closely
- Unsafe overtaking of an e-scooter
- Red-light running
- Failure to yield the right-of-way
- Defective or poorly maintained electric scooter
- Dangerous road defects, such as cracks or potholes
Carless and reckless driver behaviors put e-scooter riders at risk of suffering serious injuries in traffic accidents, including broken bones, head and neck injuries, traumatic brain injuries, road rash, and spinal cord injuries. Sadly, many e-scooter accidents prove fatal for the scooter riders.
What Should I Do After Being Injured in a Carlsbad E-Scooter Accident?
If you get injured in an e-scooter accident, you can take a few basic steps to protect your legal rights and build a stronger insurance claim. Ten steps to take are:
- Stay calm and ensure your safety. Move to a safe location out of traffic, if possible.
- Check yourself for any injuries, keeping in mind that your adrenaline may mask pain.
- Call 911 to report the e-scooter accident to the police without delay.
- Get medical care for your injuries immediately, requesting an ambulance in an emergency.
- Exchange contact and insurance information with the other parties involved, including a driver.
- Document the scene by taking photos and speaking to eyewitnesses before you leave.
- Call your own car insurance company, if available, to report the e-scooter accident.
- Keep copies of records and documents that are relevant to your case.
- Do not speak to an insurance claims adjuster without first consulting with an attorney.
- Contact The Fine Law Firm to arrange a free e-scooter accident case consultation in Carlsbad.
Avoid mistakes such as admitting fault, posting about your accident on social media and rushing into a fast insurance settlement. Contact us as soon as possible for assistance with the claims process from the very beginning.
What Is Negligence, and How Do I Prove it?
Negligence is a legal concept that provides the foundation for most personal injury cases in New Mexico. If someone is negligent, it means he or she failed to act with reasonable care to avoid causing harm to others. For example, all motor vehicle drivers have a duty to operate their vehicles safely. If a driver engages in dangerous behaviors behind the wheel, this breaches the driver’s duty of care and constitutes negligence.
When you file an e-scooter accident claim against another person or party, you are given the burden of proof. This means you must prove the claim you are making based on a preponderance of the evidence, or more likely to be true than not true. Your personal injury attorney can help you prove negligence by gathering clear and convincing evidence that the defendant owed you a duty of care, breached this duty of care and caused your e-scooter accident.
Evidence to support an e-scooter accident claim may include a police report, eyewitness statements, photographs of the crash scene, traffic or surveillance videos, medical records, and expert testimony. Your lawyer will work hard to prove that the defendant in your case violated a traffic law or otherwise behaved in a negligent manner and that this was the proximate or actual cause of your e-scooter accident. We can hire highly qualified experts to support your case, as necessary.
What Damages Are Available to Carlsbad Accident Victims?
If you get hurt in a Carlsbad e-scooter crash, you may be eligible for financial compensation (also known as damages) for many of your related losses. An insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit in New Mexico could hold a defendant financially responsible for several of your economic and noneconomic losses.
Examples include:
- Past and future medical bills
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation
- Disability or disfigurement
- Lost wages
- Lost capacity to earn
- Property damage or destruction
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
- Wrongful death damages, if the crash was fatal
Our attorneys will carefully review your e-scooter accident case to give you an accurate estimate of what it might be worth. Then, we can fight for maximum financial compensation on your behalf through aggressive settlement negotiations or litigation at trial.
Call Our Carlsbad E-Scooter Accident Lawyer
E-scooter accidents happen often in Carlsbad. If someone else caused or contributed to your scooter accident, you may have the right to recover compensation. Contact The Fine Law Firm to find out how we can help you with the injury claims process. Our legal services are free of charge unless we succeed in securing financial compensation for your losses. Call (505) 889-3463 or contact us online today for a free initial case evaluation.