Michigan E-Scooter and E-Bike Accident Lawyer

Scooters and e-bikes turned short city trips into something you can do without a car. They also send a steady stream of riders to the emergency room, because a person on a scooter has no frame, no airbag, and no seat belt. A driver who never looks, a battery that catches fire, a brake that fails, a pothole in a bike lane- any one of them can mean a broken wrist, a concussion, or weeks off work.

Auto-accident attorneys at Vahdat Weisman Law represent injured riders in Livonia and across Michigan. The hard part of these cases is not proving you got hurt. It is finding who pays, because the answer depends on how Michigan classifies your device and whether a car was part of the crash, and insurers are quick to use those questions against you.

Start With One Question: Was a Car Involved?

In a normal collision, Michigan no-fault pays your medical bills regardless of fault. Scooter and e-bike cases split along a sharper line: was a motor vehicle part of what happened?

If a car or truck hit you, you can generally claim personal injury protection (PIP) benefits for medical care, wage loss, attendant care, and replacement services, even though you were not in a car yourself. A door thrown open into your path counts too, because that injury still arises out of the use of a motor vehicle. But if you went down on your own, on a stuck throttle or a broken curb, no-fault PIP usually does not apply, and the case moves to other sources of recovery. That one fact reshapes everything, so we settle it first.

How Michigan Classifies Your Device, and Why It Decides Who Pays

The label on your device is not trivia. It decides which insurance rules you live under. Under MCL 257.13e, an electric bicycle has a seat, working pedals, and a motor no larger than 750 watts, sorted into three classes: Class 1 assists only while you pedal and stops at 20 mph, Class 2 adds a throttle but still cuts out at 20 mph, and Class 3 is pedal-assist up to 28 mph. A stand-up electric scooter falls under the “electric skateboard” definition in MCL 257.13f, a device of no more than 2,500 watts and a top speed of no more than 25 mph.

Here is why that matters. Devices meeting these definitions are not motor vehicles, and Michigan’s no-fault act expressly leaves e-bikes out of its motor-vehicle definition. So an injured rider hit by a car is treated like an injured pedestrian or bicyclist, not someone who needed their own auto policy to be covered. Add a bigger motor or strip the pedals, though, and the device can become an unlicensed moped, motorcycle, or e-moto, which pulls in registration, licensing, and insurance rules that can sink an unwary claim.

When a Driver Hits You

A rider struck by a car is a non-occupant under the no-fault act, and two statutes work together to decide who pays. Under MCL 500.3114(1), you look first to your own auto policy, then a spouse’s, then a resident relative’s in your household. If no such policy exists, MCL 500.3115 sends you to the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan. After the 2019 reforms, the striking driver’s insurer is no longer part of that chain for a non-occupant, which surprises people who assume the car that hit them must pay their medical bills. Coverage also has a ceiling: the Assigned Claims Plan caps PIP medical at $250,000, and a household policy is capped at whatever level the policyholder chose, from $50,000 to unlimited. Those numbers can decide everything after a serious head or spine injury.

Separately, you may have a claim against the at-fault driver for pain and suffering and other damages if your injury meets the threshold in MCL 500.3135: death, permanent serious disfigurement, or a serious impairment of body function. We pursue both the no-fault benefits that pay for care and the liability claim against the driver who caused the crash.

When No Car Is Involved

Many serious scooter and e-bike injuries happen with no car in sight. A throttle sticks, a battery ignites, a defective weld snaps, or a rental device that should have been pulled from service throws its rider. No-fault PIP usually will not apply here, but you still have paths to recovery. Your health insurance covers treatment, subject to its deductibles and any lien it later asserts. A product claim may exist against the maker or maintainer of the device, though Michigan’s tort-reform statutes make design-defect cases genuinely hard and reward early expert inspection before the device is repaired or scrapped. And a fall caused by a dangerous road or path can support a claim against the responsible owner or government agency, but a public road or sidewalk defect triggers the strict 120-day notice rule in MCL 691.1404, so these cannot wait.

Rental Scooters: Read the App Before You Sue

Shared scooters from companies like Bird and Lime carry an extra hurdle. When you tapped to unlock, you accepted a user agreement that almost always includes a liability waiver, a binding arbitration clause, and a class-action waiver. Michigan courts enforce well-drafted click-through arbitration agreements more often than injured riders expect, which can pull a case out of public court entirely. Those terms are not the end of the story; a waiver generally cannot excuse gross negligence or a product defect, and a minor’s agreement stands on different footing, but they have to be analyzed before anything is filed. We pull the rental agreement, the device’s maintenance and inspection history, prior complaints, and the company’s backend trip data, which records your GPS track, speed, throttle, and braking. That telemetry often proves a mechanical failure or clears a rider of blame, which is exactly why it has to be preserved with a spoliation letter before the company overwrites it.

Where You Were Riding Can Help or Hurt

Michigan ties rights to rules. Class 3 e-bikes are restricted from many sidewalks and trails unless a local ordinance allows them, and stand-up scooters face their own roadway and sidewalk limits that vary by city. Age and helmet rules apply too: a Class 3 e-bike rider must be at least 14, and operators or passengers under 18 must wear a helmet under MCL 257.662a, while a person under 12 may not operate an electric scooter on the street and anyone under 19 must wear a helmet under MCL 257.658. This matters because Michigan’s comparative-fault rule, MCL 600.2959, reduces your damages by your share of fault and bars pain-and-suffering recovery entirely if you are found more than 50% at fault. Insurers lean hard on no helmet, sidewalk riding, or riding against traffic to push that number up, which is why how the crash happened gets investigated as closely as who hit you.

Who Can Be Held Responsible

A scooter or e-bike crash often has more than one responsible party. Depending on the facts, that can include a motorist who failed to yield or doored you, the manufacturer of a defective device, a rental operator that skipped maintenance or kept renting a flagged unit, or a property owner or city that left a hazard in a bike lane. We trace every party and every policy, because the first source of coverage is rarely the only one.

Injuries and Compensation

Riders have little between them and the pavement, so the injuries can be serious: fractures, dental damage, road rash, and head trauma that can change a life even when a helmet was worn. We pursue the no-fault benefits that apply, bring liability and product claims for the damages those benefits do not cover, and document medical needs and lost income in full. Early care and good records make a measurable difference in what a claim is worth later.

How Vahdat Weisman Law Handles Your Case

We do not let the scooter company, the city, or the insurer frame the story before anyone has looked at the data. We classify the device, confirm whether a motor vehicle was involved, preserve the device and its electronic records, send the notices the law requires, and map every source of coverage. From our Livonia office, attorneys Jordan S. Vahdat and Kara E. Weisman handle e-scooter and e-bike injury claims for clients across Metro Detroit and the rest of Michigan on a contingency-fee basis, so there is no attorney fee unless we recover for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Does Michigan no-fault cover an e-scooter or e-bike crash? It depends on whether a motor vehicle was involved. If a car hit you, or doored you, you can generally claim PIP benefits as a non-occupant. If you crashed on your own, no-fault usually does not apply, and we look to health insurance, a product claim, or a premises claim.
• Is an e-bike a motor vehicle in Michigan? No, as long as it meets the legal definition: a seat, working pedals, and a motor no larger than 750 watts in one of the three classes. The no-fault act specifically excludes e-bikes from its motor-vehicle definition. A device that exceeds those limits can be treated as a moped or motor vehicle instead.
• A car hit me. Doesn’t its insurance pay my medical bills? Usually not directly, for a non-occupant. Under MCL 500.3114(1), you look to your own, a spouse’s, or a resident relative’s auto policy first, and to the Assigned Claims Plan if none exists. You may still have a separate claim against the driver for pain and suffering.
• The scooter I rented malfunctioned. Can I still sue? Possibly, but the rental agreement likely includes an arbitration clause and a waiver that Michigan courts often enforce. They do not necessarily bar claims for a product defect or gross negligence. We review the agreement and preserve the device’s data before deciding the best path.
• What does it cost to hire you? Nothing upfront. We handle these claims on a contingency-fee basis, so you owe no attorney’s fee unless we recover compensation for you.

Why Injured Michiganders Trust Vahdat Weisman Law

Vahdat Weisman Law is a personal injury firm based in Livonia, Michigan, representing injury victims and their families throughout the state. Our attorneys, Jordan S. Vahdat and Kara E. Weisman, bring courtroom experience, a record of meaningful results, and a hands-on approach to investigation and case strategy. We prepare every matter as if it will go to trial, which positions clients for stronger settlements and protects their rights if litigation becomes necessary.

We handle e-scooter and e-bike injury claims on a contingency-fee basis, which means there is no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you. From our Livonia office, we serve clients across Metro Detroit and the rest of Michigan, and we explain every step in plain language so you can make informed decisions about your case.

Speak With a Michigan Personal Injury Lawyer

If you were hurt on an e-scooter or e-bike, contact Vahdat Weisman Law in Livonia today at (734) 469-4994 for a free, confidential consultation. The sooner we hear from you, the sooner we can preserve the device, the data, and the deadlines your claim depends on. Reach out through our contact page to tell us what happened and learn about your options. There is no cost to speak with us about your potential claim.

Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique, and prior results do not guarantee future success.