On Tuesday, a woman sued Neutron Holdings Inc., doing business as Lime, over a product defect that she claims caused her to crash and injure her wrist and hand in October 2019. The Northern District of California product liability complaint asserts that Lime’s numerous recalls and poor track record show that it failed to take reasonable measures to ensure the safety of the electric scooters it offered for civilian use.
According to the complaint, Lime “is a company that deploys electronic scooters into the public under the guise of environmentally friendly transportation without the headache of traffic.” However, the filing notes, since the service launched in late 2017 and early 2018, injuries due to equipment failures have been replete.
The complaint details several Lime scooter safety recalls, one concerning incidents of scooters breaking in half, and other problems, including a software bug that reportedly caused scooters to brake suddenly. As Law Street Media previously reported, safety concerns triggered local and state-level restrictions as well as a torrent of lawsuits, like a class action filed last August in California state court by injured riders.
In the instant case, the plaintiff, a resident of Michigan, allegedly rented a Lime scooter in Corpus Christi, Texas after attending a music festival. Reportedly, the throttle stuck and the scooter soon accelerated to full speed. The plaintiff claims she hit a crack in the pavement, “causing her to be thrown forward and severely injuring her left wrist and hand, which ultimately required surgery.”
The rider alleges that, among other problems, Lime’s electric scooters are manufactured with inadequate safety features. The company also fails to maintain them properly, partly due to its practice of hiring “juicers” to recharge scooters at their own residences and redeploy them once charged, but otherwise taking no measures to inspect and service them.
The lawsuit states four claims for relief including for strict product liability and breaches of warranty. The plaintiff requests various damages and an award of her attorneys’ fees and costs.
The rider is represented by Harlan Law P.C. and Johnson Becker PLLC.
