Wichita Scooter Accident Lawyers

Our attorneys can help you get the maximum compensation for your injuries

Electric bikes (e-bikes) and electric scooters (e-scooters) are commonly used for transportation and for recreation in Wichita and Kansas. Like bicycles, there is little  protection for you if struck by a vehicle.   A negligent driver can cause a car wreck that leaves you injured. When struck by a vehicle, your injuries can be quite serious.

The e-bike and e-scooter accident injury lawyers at Pistotnik Law know that these wrecks can affect victims physically, emotionally, and financially. We understand the difficulty of dealing with insurance adjusters who try to minimize injuries to try to pay as little compensation as possible. We will fight back to protect you and get you the compensation you deserve.

E-bikes and e-scooters have electric motors to help propel the bicycle or scooter, but with the higher speeds comes more risk. Kansas and Wichita has special rules of the road for e-bike and e-scooter operators.  But you have a legal right to assume others using the roads will follow the laws properly.

When a driver negligently collides with an e-bike or e-scooter, or even if there is no contact, and the driver causes you to collide or wreck, you have legal rights to recover for you injury.  Our injury attorneys will help.

Hit By a Car on an E-Bike? Hit By a Car on an E-Scooter? We Will Help

An e-bike or e-scooter loses the battle when a wreck occurs with a passenger car weighing thousands of pounds. People riding electric scooters and electric bikes are at risk of injury when:

• Dooring accidents – A driver of a parked car opens the door suddenly without checking for approaching e-bikes or e-scooters coming up from behind.
• Distracted driving accidents – A driver may be texting or talking on the phone. A driver may be eating, changing radio stations, or taking care of a child in the vehicle, but fails to keep a proper lookout for others using the street.
• Rearend collisions – A driver fails to keep a safe and appropriate distance between their vehicle while following you, or otherwise drives recklessly causing you to be hit from behind.
• Intersection accidents – A driver fails to yield right of way during a left turn,  turning directly into the path of an e-bike or e-scooter coming from the other direction. A driver makes a right turn and does not check the side or  rearview mirror for an e-bike or e-scooter in the area.  A driver turns right on a red while you are crossing the street.
• Sideswipe accidents – A driver doesn’t give you sufficient space in the same lane of travel and hits you from the side.
• Speeding accidents – A driver operates the vehicle at an inappropriate speed for the circumstances and is unable to stop in time to prevent a collision with an e-bike or e-scooter in the area.

If you were hit by a car on an electric bike or electric scooter and the accident was not your fault, you deserve financial compensation. Likewise, if you’re a pedestrian who was hit by a negligent e-bike or e-scooter operator, you have the right to seek compensation for your injuries and damages.

Insurance adjusters like to try and blame you even when you were legally using the roadway. They try to minimize the extent of your injuries.  Our experienced injury lawyers will stand up for you and fight to get you compensated for all of your losses.

What Special Laws Apply to E-Bicyclists and E-Scooters?

“A person riding a bicycle has the same obligations and is entitled to the same protection under the law as other persons in vehicles upon the highway.” Pattern Instruction of Kansas 121.61.  This simply means that the normal rules of the road apply to bicyclists.

There are  some specific laws that are directed to the operation of bicycles. 

“The laws of Kansas provide that every person operating a bicycle or moped upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable except under any of the following situations when:

1. Overtaking and passing another bicycle or vehicle proceeding in the same direction;
2. Preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway;
3. Reasonably necessary to avoid conditions including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, parked or moving bicycles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards or narrow width lanes that make it unsafe to continue along the right-hand edge of the roadway.”  Pattern Instruction of Kansas 121.75  Additional parts of this law state that a bicyclist may ride near to the left side on one way streets.  Bicyclists shall not ride more than two abreast.  Bicyclists shall use bike paths or lanes when usable.

There is a specific law for motorists when opening a car door to moving traffic: “The laws of Kansas provide that no person shall open the door of a motor vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless and until it is reasonably safe to do so, and can be done without interfering with the movement of other traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open on the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.  Pattern Instruction of Kansas 121.77.

The Kansas Driving Handbook for training Kansas drivers also lists best practices for drivers when near bicyclists:

1.  You must yield to bicyclists in intersections as you would for pedestrians and other vehicles.
2. You must yield the right-of-way to a bicyclist when a bicycle path or bike lane intersects a road.  Do not stop, park or drive on a designated bicycle path or lane unless you are entering or leaving an alley or driveway, performing official duties, directed by a police officer, or an emergency situation exists.
3. When approaching or passing a bicyclist slow down and allow as much space as possible and consider a bicyclist’s speed when you pass.  If you are about to make a right turn, you must not pass a bicyclist immediately before the turn.  To avoid a collision, you should slow down and let the cyclist clear the intersection before making a turn.
4. Be careful after you have passed a bicyclist. Do not slow down or stop quickly.  A motor vehicle’s brakes are more powerful than a bicycle’s, and you could cause a crash.
5. Do not sound your horn close to bicyclists unless there is a chance of a collision.  Sounding your horn to alert your presence may startle them and cause them to steer into your path and crash.
6. When making turns, watch carefully for bicyclists entering your lane.  Be especially careful if you see children riding bikes on the sidewalk.  They may come onto the road.
7. Never turn sharply in front of a bicyclist, and do not force a bicyclist off the road.
8. Although bicyclists are required to ride in the direction of traffic, you should look for them riding anywhere on the roadway.
9. Be particularly careful around bicyclists when the roadway is wet or covered with sand or gravel.  Like motor vehicles, bicycles cannot brake as quickly or turn as sharply under these conditions.  These conditions affect bicycles much more than vehicles.
10. Cooperate  with bicyclists. They are required to use hand signals, as shown, when turning and stopping.  However, keep in mind that a bicyclist may be unable to signal if road or traffic conditions require them to keep both hands on the handlebars.  Look for other clues of a bicyclist’s intent, like turning their head or looking over their shoulder before changing lane position.
11. When parked on the street or parallel parking a vehicle, check to the sides and rear for bicyclists before you open your vehicle door, and always use caution in exiting the vehicle by looking around for other oncoming vehicles.
12. You should check for bicyclists in your path before backing. Be especially cautious near schools or residential areas where bicyclists may be present.

I Was Hit By a Car on an E-Bike or an E-Scooter. Do I Need a Lawyer?

You need to know your rights. Some insurance companies talk to you soon after the wreck and make quick low settlement offers.  Be careful, if you accept a low amount with the insurance adjuster, the laws in Kansas provide that a verbal agreement to settle is binding. Our injury attorneys at Pistotnik Law offer to review the details of your accident and go over your legal options for free. We will answer all of your questions and make sure you are fully informed of your legal options.  There are statistics from insurance companies that they have to pay as much as three times more on average for a claim when an injury attorney is involved.

We have handled many e-bike and e-scooter versus car wrecks that have injured people and we know what needs to be done to prove both aspects of your case—fault of the driver and maximizing the value of your damages.

Recovering compensation can be difficult.  Insurance companies spend a lot of money training their adjusters on how to try to pay as little as possible and on things to look for in each case to try and minimize your claims.

Our injury attorneys know the tactics that insurance companies use. We fight back. Our injury attorneys know how to handle your bicycle accident to prove fault on the driver and to prove your damages. We work hard gathering the evidence needed to convince the insurance adjuster of the real value of your case.

We build strong cases that insurance adjusters must acknowledge.We are not interested in making quick deals and instead will fight for you to get maximum compensation.

When Should I Hire an Attorney?

You should get legal advice as soon as possible following your wreck.  We offer a free consultation and it is no obligation.  We give free advice.  We help you get quality medical care.   We handle all of the annoying calls, texts and emails with the multiple insurance adjusters who are working to minimize the value of your case.

When you hire us, there are no upfront fees or other charges you need to pay. We work on a contingency fee basis. We pay all the costs that are involved in proving your case. You owe us nothing unless we get you a settlement that you approve. If you don’t win, we don’t get paid.

If you were injured in an e-bike or e-scooter accident in Wichita or Kansas, you need an experienced injury attorney with experience that gets results. Contact the injury attorneys at Pistotnik Law to schedule a free consultation. If you can’t make it to our office, we can meet at your home, hospital room or other location that is more convenient for you.  If you want to do it by phone, we can do that to.  We work to make it easy for you.