Your Rights in E-Scooter and E-Bike Accidents
E-scooter and e-bike crashes fall into a legal gray zone that insurance companies love: the rider is not in a car, the device is not quite a bicycle, and the adjuster on the other end of the phone is happy to let that confusion work against you. Colorado law is clearer than most people expect, and this post walks through the rules that decide who pays, which policies apply, and what to do in the first days after a crash. A Denver scooter injury lawyer at Boesen Law can look at your crash and tell you where the claim stands.
What Colorado Law Calls Your Ride Matters
The first thing an adjuster looks at is the device itself, because Colorado sorts e-bikes and electric scooters into categories with different rules attached.
E-Bikes Come in Three Classes
The Colorado Department of Transportation explains the three classes of e-bikes recognized in state law. Class 1 is pedal assist only with a 20 mph limit, Class 2 adds a throttle with the same 20 mph limit, and Class 3 is pedal assist up to 28 mph, with a minimum rider age of 16 and a helmet requirement for riders under 18. A bike that goes faster than 28 mph or carries more than 750 watts is treated as a motor vehicle, which needs a license, registration, and insurance.
Electric Scooters Follow Local Rules
Stand-up electric scooters are regulated largely by cities. Denver’s rules direct scooter riders to bike lanes and streets and keep them off sidewalks, and riders are expected to follow the same traffic signals as everyone else. Those local rules come up later, because an insurer will point to any rule you broke to argue that you share the blame.
Classification affects which policies are on the table and how fault gets argued, so Boesen Law starts every scooter or e-bike case by documenting exactly what you were riding and where.
For answers to your questions, call:
(303) 999-9999
Who Pays When You Are Hit
Colorado is an at-fault state, which means the person who caused the crash, and that person’s insurer, are responsible for the harm. On a scooter or e-bike, the at-fault party is usually a driver, but not always.
- A driver who turned, merged, or opened a door into you. The driver’s liability coverage is the first source of payment. Left turns across a bike lane and right hooks at intersections are the classic patterns, and they look a lot like the crashes our bicycle injury attorneys handle every year.
- A driver with no insurance or too little. Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage can apply even though you were not in your car when it happened. The details of these uninsured motorist accidents in Colorado often decide whether a serious injury is fully covered.
- A rental company or manufacturer. A scooter with failing brakes, a battery fire, or a throttle that sticks can support a product claim against the company that maintained or built it, even when the app terms you clicked through try to limit that.
- A property owner or public entity. A crash caused by a broken path or a hazard on private property brings in different rules and much shorter notice deadlines.
Each of these sources has its own limits and its own adjuster, and Boesen Law lines them up so nothing is left on the table.
Shared Fault and Why Insurers Bring It Up
Expect the insurance company to ask whether you were on the sidewalk, wearing a helmet, or riding at night without a light. Under Colorado’s comparative negligence statute, C.R.S. § 13-21-111, your compensation is reduced by your share of fault, and you recover nothing if your share is equal to or greater than the other party’s.
That is why small facts matter. A rider who was in a marked bike lane, with a working light, struck by a driver making an unprotected left turn, is in a very different position from a rider who darted off a curb between parked cars. Missing a helmet is not a defense to the crash itself, but the insurer may still argue it made a head injury worse. Bringing the question to a lawyer early keeps a fault argument from turning into a reason to deny the claim.
The Injuries We See and What They Cost
Riders have no frame, airbag, or seat belt, so even a low-speed hit can be serious. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 1,103 bicyclists were killed in traffic crashes in 2024, and riders who survive often face fractures to the wrist, collarbone, and ankle, facial injuries, and traumatic brain injuries that do not show up on the day of the crash.
A claim can include medical bills, future treatment, lost wages, lost earning capacity, pain, and the loss of activities you used to enjoy. When a scooter or e-bike was your daily commute, the cost of replacing it and of getting to work in the meantime belongs in the claim as well. Boesen Law works with your treating doctors from the start so the record shows the full picture.
What to Do in the First Few Days
The steps right after a crash shape the claim more than anything that happens months later.
- Get medical care right away. Head and neck symptoms can take a day or two to surface.
- Call the police. A report creates an independent record of where you were riding and what the driver did, and Colorado has firm rules about when you must call the police after a crash.
- Save the device and the app data. Rental apps log trip speed, route, and the exact time the ride ended. Ask for that data in writing.
- Photograph everything. The bike lane, the intersection, the car, your gear, and your injuries.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the driver’s insurer before you talk to a lawyer.
There is also a clock running. Most crashes with a motor vehicle carry a three-year deadline in Colorado, while many other injury claims carry two years, and these time limits on personal injury cases are strictly enforced.
Jason Carr on E-Scooter and E-Bike Claims
Jason Carr, a Boesen Law motor vehicle attorney who spent 14 years as a commissioned officer in the US Army Reserve Military Police, tells riders:
“The first thing an insurer says about a scooter crash is that the rider came out of nowhere. Our job is to show where the rider actually was. The ride data from the app, a bike lane marking in a photo, and a traffic camera at the intersection usually tell that story better than anyone’s memory. When we have those three things, the conversation shifts from whether the driver was at fault to how badly the rider was hurt.”
What Cases Like Yours Have Recovered
Riders struck by cars have recovered real compensation. One client, struck by a car making a left turn while biking across a crosswalk, suffered a leg fracture and a concussion, and Boesen Law secured a $750,000 settlement. Another client, hit by a driver who ran a stop sign while crossing the street on foot, suffered a severe concussion and recovered $390,000. More outcomes are on our case results page.
Contact Boesen Law After an E-Scooter or E-Bike Crash
A scooter or e-bike crash should not leave you paying for someone else’s mistake. Boesen Law has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for injured Coloradans, and our lawyers listen carefully and fight relentlessly for riders who were treated like an afterthought. Contact Boesen Law for a free, in-person consultation. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, we speak English, Spanish, and Russian, and there is no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you.
FAQs About E-Scooter and E-Bike Accident Rights in Colorado
What are the laws regarding electric scooters in Colorado?
State law defines electric scooters and leaves much of the day-to-day regulation to cities. In Denver, scooters belong in bike lanes and on streets rather than on sidewalks, and riders must obey traffic signals. Breaking a local rule does not erase your claim, but the insurer will use it to argue shared fault, so it pays to have someone review the facts with you.
Does insurance cover e-bike accidents?
Often, yes. If a driver caused the crash, that driver’s liability coverage is the starting point. If the driver had no insurance or not enough, your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may apply. Medical payments coverage on your auto policy, and your health insurance, can help with bills while the claim is pending.
Is Colorado a no-fault state for accidents?
No. Colorado is not a no-fault state; it moved to an at-fault system in 2003, which means the person who caused the crash is responsible for the harm. That rule applies whether you were in a car, on a bike, or on a scooter when you were hit.
What are the new e-bike laws in Colorado?
Colorado’s three-class system sets speed limits and rider rules for e-bikes, and sellers must disclose a bike’s class, motor wattage, and top speed at the point of sale. A bike that has been modified to exceed 28 mph or 750 watts is treated as a motor vehicle, which changes the insurance and licensing picture after a crash.
Call (303) 999-9999 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
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