San Diego E-Bike Accident Lawyer

San Diego offers some of the best biking experiences on the West Coast. As e-bikes have become more popular, they’ve joined the ranks of traditional cyclists on San Diego roads and trails. Unfortunately, e-bikes pose a much more significant threat to rider safety than standard bicycles.

If you’ve been injured in an accident on an electric bicycle in San Diego, California, it’s important to ask for help. At Singleton Schreiber, we’re nationally recognized San Diego personal injury attorneys who’ve helped injury victims and families win billions of dollars after life-changing accidents.

Our San Diego e-bike accident lawyers can help you explore your legal rights and fight to recover the compensation you need to move on with your life. Discover the kind of impact our award-winning litigators can have on your e-bike accident case by calling our San Diego law office today. There’s no charge for your initial case evaluation.

What Are E-Bikes and Where Can They Be Operated in San Diego?

In California, electric bikes, or e-bikes, are defined as “a bicycle with fully operable pedals and an electric motor of less than 750 watts.” As a result, they’re a lot heavier than a standard bicycle and can be much more difficult to maneuver.

E-bikes fall into one of three classifications, depending on how the vehicle can be powered and its top speed.

State and local laws limit how and where e-bikes can be operated based on their classification. Most electric bicycles can be ridden in bike lanes or on the road as long as they can keep up with the flow of traffic. Since e-bikes max out at about 28 MPH, they’re generally prohibited on roads with speed limits exceeding 25 MPH. San Diego strictly prohibits e-bikes from being ridden on sidewalks.

What Causes Most E-Bike Accidents?

Most car accidents involving electric bicycles in San Diego can be avoided.

They’re most often the result of negligence, including:

• Driver distraction
• Failing to yield the right of way to e-bike riders at an intersection
• Illegal turns
• Following too closely
• Rolling stops
• Running red lights
• Failing to signal before turning or changing lanes
• Road rage
• Speeding
• Drowsy driving
• Failing to leave an adequate space between a vehicle and an e-bike while passing
• Vehicle and e-bike defects
• Negligent vehicle maintenance
• Road defects, including potholes, obstructed signage, malfunctioning traffic signals, and unsafe road designs

Since e-bikes share the road with larger vehicles in San Diego, it’s critical for everyone to follow local traffic laws and operate their vehicles with caution. Minor lapses in judgment or mistakes can be catastrophic - and it’s the e-bike rider who is most likely to suffer the most severe consequences.

What Are the Most Common E-Bike Accident Injuries?

According to one study, 46,000 people were treated in emergency rooms across the country for e-bike accident injuries between 2017 and 2022. That’s roughly 7,666 serious e-bike accidents every year. There were also a total of 104 e-bike fatalities during this time period.

Some of the most commonly reported e-bike injuries include:

• Traumatic brain injury
• Concussion injury
• Dental injury
• Head injury
• Eye injury
• Broken bones and fractures, including legs and wrists
• Crush injury
• Spinal cord injury
• Paralysis injury
• Back injury
• Neck injury
• Bruising and contusions
• Lacerations
• Wrongful death

Wearing a helmet while operating an electric bicycle in San Diego can significantly reduce the risk of catastrophic brain injuries and death. In fact, research demonstrates that e-bike riders who don’t wear helmets are twice as likely to suffer a head injury than those who do.

Not surprisingly, California law requires anyone operating a Class 3 e-bike to wear a helmet, regardless of age. However, only minors are required to wear a helmet when riding a Class 1 or Class 2 e-bike in San Diego.

Who’s Liable For an E-Bike Accident in San Diego?

Liability can be shared by anyone who contributes to a traffic accident involving an electric bicycle in San Diego. Typically, anyone whose negligence plays a part in a collision will be financially responsible for resulting damages.

Depending on how and why your e-bike accident happened, liability might extend to a:

• Driver of a passenger vehicle
• Motorcyclist
• Bicyclist
• Pedestrian
• Truck driver
• Bus driver
• Vehicle passenger
• E-bike manufacturer
• Vehicle or component manufacturer
• Property owner
• Government agency

E-bike operators aren’t always without blame. There are times when a rider’s own negligence will contribute to an accident.

In these situations, the rider will:

• Share responsibility for other victims’ damages, and
• Experience a reduction in the damages that they can recover from other parties.

Under California’s pure comparative fault system, an electric bicycle rider who shares 25 percent of the blame for an accident will be responsible for 25 percent of damages sustained by other victims in the accident. Additionally, the rider’s financial recovery will be reduced by 25 percent.

Our electric bicycle accident attorneys in San Diego will conduct a thorough investigation into your crash. We’ll dig deep to understand precisely why your accident happened and determine who’s at fault. We’ll also anticipate any attempts to blame you for the wreck, which, left unchallenged, could seriously jeopardize your ability to recover compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and other crash-related damages.

Singleton Schreiber will be your most fearless advocate and will fight to help you secure maximum compensation from those at fault.

E-Bike Accident Victims in San Diego Trust Singleton Schreiber

As the victim of an electric bicycle accident in San Diego, you have rights. This can include the ability to seek monetary damages from a negligent motorist, a government agency, or another liable party.

Hiring an experienced San Diego personal injury lawyer is the best way to make the most of your fight for compensation.

Crash victims and families in San Diego trust Singleton Schreiber because we aren’t afraid to go the extra mile to make a difference in our client’s lives. As award-winning California trial attorneys with decades of collective experience handling complex auto accident cases, we’ve successfully leveraged over $2.5 billion (and counting) in settlement agreements and jury verdicts.

Now, we’re ready to put our local lawyers and national resources in your corner, too. Let us help you demand accountability for your e-bike injuries.

We offer a free initial case evaluation. You have a limited time to file a personal injury claim, so contact our San Diego e-bike accident attorneys to discuss your case today.