The newest phase of rideshare companies is happening with rented scooters that customers can ride around the city. Bird and Lime are two of the fastest growing companies for rented scooters, which are now sharing the roads with cars, trucks, bicycles, and motorcycles. However, accidents involving scooters in other states have increased exponentially, and this has people in Texas wondering who will compensate rented scooter victims involved in accidents on the road. The skilled motor vehicle collision attorneys at DJC Law are at the forefront of this fight and are working hard to ensure their clients injured in rented scooter accidents receive the compensation they deserve.
Who Is Liable in Scooter Accidents?
Texas law has not caught up completely with the newest scooter craze, and victims of scooter accidents can suffer as a result. Like rideshare companies Uber and Lyft, rented scooter companies by law are required to carry insurance policies for liability coverage. However, it is important to note that user agreements for these services generally release the company from any liability and require the rider to assume all responsibility for themselves. As such, recovering compensation from the company itself may be a challenged.
If a scooter is involved in an accident with another vehicle on the road, such as a car or motorcycle, the driver of the other vehicle may be liable for damages. In this situation, the vehicle’s insurance coverage may kick in and cover the claims of the scooter victim. However, Texas fault laws can significantly impact the claims of rented scooter victims.
Texas Modified Comparative Negligence
For personal injury cases in Texas, the court operates under a modified comparative negligence rule. This means that the judge will determine the degree of fault for every party involved in the accident and reduce the compensation award by that percentage. For example, if a rental scooter victim is hit by a car in an intersection and receives $100,000 in compensation but is found to be 20 percent at fault, the final award will be reduced to $80,000. However, under the modified rule, if a party is found more than 50 percent at fault, they are barred from recovery. So in the same example, if the scooter victim is found 51 percent at fault for the accident, the victim will receive no money to help pay for the cost of their injuries.
With murky rules about right of way for electric scooters and where they can ride, scooter victims are at a particularly high risk of being blamed for causing the accident and barred from receiving compensation for serious, often permanent injuries. It is critical that you hire an experienced scooter accident attorney if you are injured in a collision to protect your claims and have someone zealously advocating for your rights to recovery.
Our Austin Scooter Accident Attorneys Can Help
Rental scooter accidents are new for Texas and often require legal advice to navigate the complexities of a civil injury case. Call the office today at DJC Law to schedule a free consultation with one of our Austin scooter accident lawyers to discuss your rented scooter injury claims.