Family Sues Lime after Woman Suffers Catastrophic Injuries in Scooter Accident
A recent listicle by Ian Fortey attributes the decline of the motor vehicle as a horror movie villain to the fact that the road is a much less scary place than it used to be. Unlike in the 1960s, cars have seat belts and airbags, and if you are stuck in traffic, you can call your family from your cell phone instead of them worrying until you come home. There are far fewer drunk drivers on the road, and most young people today have never experienced the dangers of hitchhiking. What Fortey does not account for in his article, though, is that new technologies come with a new set of dangers. Will your electric car electrocute you? Is your Uber driver really a murderer? Even though electric scooters, with their ridesharing business model and their GPS technology, might seem harmless, they have caused a South Florida family a living nightmare beyond the imagination of most horror authors, and now the scooter-sharing company Lime is facing a product liability lawsuit.
Details of the Ashanti Jordan Case
In December 2018, Ashanti Jordan rented an electric scooter from a Lime station near her work at Broward General Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, planning to ride it about four miles from her home. She followed the GPS directions provided by the Lime app, as well as its instructions to ride the scooter in the street instead of on the sidewalk. As a result, she collided with a car at an intersection; the impact caused her to go flying 100 feet. Her injuries were catastrophic; she has remained in a coma since the accident. Doctors had to remove part of her skull because of brain swelling, and she has had several seizures.
Ashanti’s mother Tracy Jordan filed a lawsuit against Lime. In the lawsuit, which is currently ongoing, she alleges that negligence on the part of Lime was the cause of the accident that resulted in Ashanti’s catastrophic injuries. The terms and conditions of the Lime app make users promise to ride the scooters in the street, despite that riding electric scooters on sidewalks is legal in Fort Lauderdale. The GPS directions on the Lime app were also what led Ashanti to ride into the intersection where her accident happened.
Before the accident, Ashanti led a happy and productive life. She had a close relationship with her mother, who also works at Broward General Hospital and her siblings. Fearless and physically fit, she worked in construction before taking a job in the hospital’s security department. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs seek damages for past and future lost income and past and future medical bills, as well as non-economic damages.
Let Us Help You Today
If you or a family member has suffered serious injuries because of a faulty product, including mobile phone apps, you may have grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. A personal injury lawyer can help you provide the strongest evidence to support your claim. Contact Palm Beach Gardens personal injury lawyers at Smith, Ball, Báez & Prather Injury Lawyers for a consultation.
