E-Scooters, E-Bikes, and Kids: Who's Liable When a Crash Happens in Nebraska?

KNOP News reported this month that Nebraska Medicine has already treated 22 trauma patients hurt on e-scooters and e-bikes this year alone — and that emergency room visits tied to these devices among kids and young adults have climbed sharply over the past few years. Anyone who's driven through an Omaha or Lincoln neighborhood in the last summer or two has probably seen why: e-bikes and e-scooters that can hit 20-25 mph are everywhere, and a lot of the kids riding them are doing it in real traffic, not a driveway.

I don't bring this up to scare parents away from letting their kids ride. I bring it up because when one of these crashes happens — and the numbers say they're happening more — the legal picture is genuinely more complicated than a typical bicycle accident, and most families have no idea where to start.

More than one party can be responsible

A crash involving an e-bike or e-scooter and a car can raise several different liability questions depending on how it happened:

• The driver. If a driver failed to yield, was distracted, or didn't see a smaller, lower-profile e-bike or scooter in traffic, standard driver-negligence rules apply — the same as any crash between a vehicle and a more vulnerable road user.
• The device itself. E-bikes and e-scooters are mechanical and electrical devices with brakes, batteries, and moving parts that can fail. A wheel that detaches, a brake that doesn't engage, or a battery that malfunctions can point toward a product liability claim against a manufacturer or retailer, separate from anything a driver did.
• Supervision and use. Depending on the child's age and the circumstances — riding at night without lights, riding somewhere it wasn't appropriate to ride — questions about supervision can come up, though that doesn't erase a negligent driver's responsibility for the crash itself.

Why these cases move faster than people expect

E-bikes and e-scooters, especially rental or shared models, don't always stay in one place. A damaged device can get repaired, replaced, or simply disappear before anyone thinks to preserve it as evidence. If a mechanical failure played any role in a crash — not just driver conduct — getting the device itself examined and preserved early can matter as much as the police report.

What to do if your child is hurt in one of these crashes

1. Get medical care first and document everything — the scene, the device, and any visible damage to it.
2. Don't let the device get "fixed" or thrown away before someone qualified has looked at it, if there's any chance it malfunctioned.
3. Get contact information for the driver and any witnesses, the same as you would in any car crash.
4. Have the full picture reviewed before accepting a quick settlement offer — these cases sometimes involve more than one liable party, and an early insurance offer often reflects only the simplest version of what happened.

I've handled the product side of these cases, not just the crash

I represented a Lincoln family after an e-bike's front wheel detached mid-ride, and cases like that taught me these crashes deserve a closer look than "a car hit a bike." Whether the fault lies with a driver, a manufacturer, or both, I bring the same trial-tested advocacy to every case — more than $23 million recovered for Nebraska families and countless five-star client reviews and peer endorsements, from a firm voted Best of Omaha for personal injury law in 2025 and 2026.

Call me at (402) 378-9208 or reach out here for a free consultation if your child, or you, were hurt in an e-bike or e-scooter crash. There's no fee unless I win your case.