COOK COUNTY JUDGE ADVANCES DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS LAWSUIT AGAINST E-SCOOTER COMPANIES

CHICAGO – Cook County Associate Judge Moira Johnson denied electric scooter company Bird Rides, Inc.’s Motion to Dismiss a defective product lawsuit, on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, holding the company must avail itself to the Court and answer discovery regarding an allegedly defective scooter.

The litigation stems from a June 20, 2019 crash, in Chicago, Illinois, in which an electric scooter struck bicyclist Allyson Medeiros head-on. Medeiros required multiple surgeries and incurred tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills.

The crash made national headlines when Medeiros’s attorneys, LegalRideshare LLC, summoned ten electric scooter companies to court to provide location data for their riders. The data request is believed to be the most extensive in the history of the e-scooter industry.

Through the location data, Medeiros’ attorneys identified Bird and Neutron Holdings, Inc. (which does business as “Lime”) as the only companies with rented scooters in the area, at the time of the crash. LegalRideshare LLC was then able to identify the individuals who allegedly operated the subject scooters.

Medeiros alleges that Bird and Lime’s electric scooters were “unreasonably dangerous,” specifically with regard to their faulty brakes and accelerating throttles. The First Amended Complaint at Law points to several instances in which people were injured due to alleged brake and accelerator defects on Bird and Lime scooters, in the months before Medeiros’ crash.

Greening said Medeiros has overcome substantial hurdles since the day of the crash. “The responsible parties have been attempting to evade responsibility for nearly two years,” Greening said. “We are confident that with the Court’s ruling, justice will be served.”

Greening said Medeiros hopes to recover of damages for the costs of medical treatment, lost wages, pain and suffering, disability and disfigurement. “When companies place defective products onto our city streets, people get hurt,” Greening said. “It is reasonably foreseeable that scooters with faulty brakes and accelerators will crash into members of our community.”

Bird Rides, Inc. and Neutron Holdings, Inc. were ordered to file their answers to the First Amended Complaint, by June 22, 2021.

LegalRideshare, LLC is the first law firm dedicated to protecting the rights of injured rideshare drivers, passengers and victims. Attorney Greening can be reached at (312) 767-7950 or bryant@legalrideshare.com.