E-Bike Accident Claim: What Is Different From a Bicycle

Most states have adopted a three-class system. Class 1 e-bikes provide assistance only while the rider pedals, up to 20 miles per hour. Class 2 e-bikes have a throttle that can propel the bike without pedaling, up to 20 miles per hour. Class 3 e-bikes provide pedal assistance up to 28 miles per hour, and most states require riders to be at least 16, require helmets, and prohibit class 3 bikes from bike paths and multi-use trails unless the local authority allows them. Bikes that exceed these limits, with more powerful motors or higher speeds, are not e-bikes under the law but mopeds or motorcycles, with registration, licensing and insurance requirements the rider has usually not met.

For a claim, the class matters in two ways. It determines where the rider was permitted to be and at what speed, so a rider on a class 3 bike on a prohibited path, or a minor on a class 3 bike, is assigned comparative fault for the violation. And it determines whether the bike is a bicycle or a motor vehicle for insurance purposes: a lawful e-bike is a bicycle under most policies and statutes, so the rider is covered as a cyclist; an over-limit bike may be a motor vehicle the rider was operating without insurance, with consequences for their own coverage.

The rules are state law with local variation, and they are changing; several states and cities have tightened age, helmet and path rules in response to injuries, particularly to teenagers on throttle bikes. An attorney in the state knows the current rules, which are the first thing an insurer checks.

An e-bike rider hit by a car has the cyclist's claim against the driver's liability insurer, under ordinary negligence rules, with the insurer arguing the rider's speed, position or path use as comparative fault and the rider answering with the driver's failure to look, event data and cameras. The rider's injuries, which are more serious than a bicyclist's at the same impact because of the bike's weight and speed, are proven as in any claim.

Where the driver is uninsured or underinsured, the rider's own household auto policy's uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage usually applies, as it does to a cyclist or pedestrian, but some policies define motor vehicles or exclude motorized bicycles in ways that an insurer will use to deny coverage, and the state's law on whether a lawful e-bike is a motor vehicle decides the dispute. Medical payments coverage on the auto policy and health insurance pay bills in the meantime.

A rider who causes injury to a pedestrian or another cyclist is personally liable, and whether their homeowner's or renter's policy covers it depends on the policy's motorized vehicle exclusion, which many apply to e-bikes and some do not; specialty e-bike insurance covers liability and the bike itself and is increasingly sold. A rider on an over-limit bike that is legally a moped is operating an uninsured motor vehicle, and no policy may respond.

Suppose you were riding a class 1 e-bike in a marked bike lane at about 18 miles per hour when a driver turned right across the lane into a driveway without signaling, and you struck the car's side. You suffered a fractured clavicle, a fractured wrist and a concussion, with $37,000 in medical bills and seven weeks off work. The driver carried a $50,000 policy.

The driver's insurer accepted that its driver turned across the lane but assigned you 35 percent fault, asserting an e-bike was too fast for the bike lane and that you should have anticipated the turn. Your state's law treated class 1 e-bikes as bicycles permitted in bike lanes at that speed; the driver's duty to yield to a cyclist in the lane before turning was unaffected by the motor; and a business camera showed the turn without a signal. The assignment was reduced to 10 percent.

The $50,000 limit was paid. Your own auto policy's underinsured motorist coverage was claimed for the balance; the insurer first pointed to a motorized vehicle exclusion, which under the state's statute did not reach a lawful e-bike, and then paid after negotiation. All figures are hypothetical; the coverage dispute over the exclusion is a recurring feature of e-bike claims.

The usual steps apply, with several specific to e-bikes.

• Photograph the bike, its class label, the controls and the display, which may show speed and assist level, and preserve the bike without repair.
• Photograph the scene, the bike lane or path markings, and any signage about e-bike use; where you were permitted to be is the first question.
• Get the driver's information and witness names, and identify cameras on businesses, signals and buses.
• Call the police and make sure the report identifies the bike as an e-bike and its class.
• Get medical care the same day; e-bike injuries are more serious than bicycle injuries and head injuries are common.
• Check your own auto policy's UM/UIM and medical payments coverage and its definitions of motor vehicle and motorized bicycle; report the crash to your insurer.
• If the bike malfunctioned, a throttle that stuck, brakes that failed, a battery that ignited, preserve the bike and its charger and report the incident to the manufacturer and the federal consumer product agency.

The three-class system has been adopted by most states, with variations: the age for class 3, helmet requirements by class and age, where each class may be ridden, and whether local authorities may restrict further. A few states regulate e-bikes differently or treat higher classes as mopeds. Over-limit bikes, sold widely online with motors and speeds beyond the classes, are mopeds or motorcycles in nearly every state, with licensing, registration and insurance requirements, and a rider on one has comparative fault and coverage problems.

Whether a lawful e-bike is a 'motor vehicle' for the purposes of the auto insurance statute, uninsured motorist coverage and policy exclusions is a question of each state's definitions, and most states' e-bike statutes provide expressly that e-bikes are not motor vehicles, which supports coverage of the rider as a cyclist. Homeowner's policy exclusions are governed by policy language and state interpretation.

Comparative negligence applies to the rider's conduct, including speed, path use, helmet non-use where the state allows it as evidence, and age violations, under the state's rule, with the contributory negligence states barring recovery for any share. Deadlines are the state's injury statute, one year in Tennessee and Kentucky, two in Texas, California, Florida and Georgia, three in New York and North Carolina; product claims follow the product liability period.

E-bikes fail in ways bicycles do not. Lithium-ion battery fires, during charging and sometimes during riding, have caused deaths and serious burns, and federal and city authorities have acted against uncertified batteries and chargers; a fire traced to a battery or charger supports a product claim against the manufacturer, importer and seller, and a claim against a landlord in some circumstances where building rules or charging facilities were inadequate. Throttles that stick, brakes inadequate for the bike's speed and weight, frames and forks that fail, and software faults are the other recurring defects.

A product claim depends on the bike being preserved unrepaired, on the purchase records identifying the seller and model, and on an engineer's examination. The many e-bikes sold online by overseas sellers through marketplaces raise the question of who can be sued; marketplaces' liability for third-party sellers' products is unsettled and differs by state, and the importer and any domestic distributor are the practical defendants.

Rental and shared e-bikes bring the rental operator's maintenance records and the rental agreement's waiver and arbitration terms, as with shared scooters, and the same analysis applies.

An e-bike claim is a cyclist's claim with additional questions: the bike's class and where it was ridden, which decide comparative fault; the policies' definitions of motor vehicle, which decide the rider's own coverage; and whether a defect contributed, which brings in the manufacturer. The questions to answer early are what class the bike was and whether it was lawful where it was ridden, what the driver's and the rider's own policies provide, and whether the bike has been preserved. Most personal injury attorneys work on contingency.

Ask Legal Matters is a free claim-review request service, not a law firm. Requests may be shared with independent attorneys and legal services partners who handle inquiries in your state, and an attorney must evaluate the facts before anyone can say what the claim is worth. If you were hurt riding an e-bike, you can request a free claim review.

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