Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
Police in Martin County, Florida, are shifting from education to an “enforcement phase” after they allege illegal activity and unsafe e-bike riding in the area, according to local media.
“Our Traffic Unit, COP, and Road Patrol deputies have worked to educate riders and parents on the laws governing e-bike use and the importance of safe operation,” officials with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said in an online statement Monday, April 27. “Despite those efforts, we continue to receive numerous complaints from residents regarding reckless and unlawful behavior—particularly involving juveniles.”
Police say the complaints have ranged from a disregard for traffic laws and designated areas, riders operating illegal e-bikes, and citizen harassment.
Over the weekend, authorities say they “conducted targeted operations, resulting in multiple stops,” in which they towed five illegal e-bikes. While police did not say how many of these micromobility devices belonged to minors, they did announce that all parents were notified.
“Those who choose to ignore the rules will be held accountable,” officials said in the post.
This comes as e-bikes, e-scooters, and other micromobility devices have soared in popularity, resulting in more injuries. Data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission showed that there were 117,600 injuries from these devices treated in emergency rooms from 2017 to 2021. In that time, 25% of these incidents involved young people from 15 to 24 years old. From 2020 to 2021, the agency found that there was a 66% increase in injuries as the popularity of these devices continued to soar.
At 30 mph, these micromobility devices are causing far more injuries than a traditional bicycle. The Sun Sentinel reported a spike in e-bike accidents at Memorial Healthcare System in southern Broward County with more severe injuries. There was a 178% increase in e-bike and e-scooter trauma alerts from 2024 to 2025. Helmet use among those who were injured is low with 82% of those injured reporting that they were not wearing helmets at the time of their accident.
Ira Leesfield on E-bikes
Ira Leesfield, the Founder and Managing Partner of Leesfield & Partners, has been sounding the alarm about these devices since at least 2019.
“This isn’t about banning innovation, it’s about protecting people,” he said.
The CPSC also reported that, in addition to crashes, the e-bikes also have issues with fires. Electric vehicle fires can burn hotter and longer than gas-powered fires and can be more difficult to put out and pose a significant threat to firefighters. While EV fires occur less frequently than traditional gas fires, they take a considerable amount of time and more water to put out. From January 2021 until November 2022, the CPSC reported at least 19 deaths as a result of fires involving the micro-mobility machines.
While Florida lawmakers passed Senate Bill 382, which now awaits the governor’s signature to become law, the new rules are not expansive enough to protect pedestrians. It will create statewide rules for micromobility devices, including data collection on crashes and the creation of a task force to study this issue for further safety measures. It will also create speed limits near pedestrians. It does not impose a statewide minimum age to operate micromobility devices, nor does it require operators to have a driver’s license, insurance, or vehicle registration. Local governments, however, may adopt their own requirements to combat a growing number of injuries and accidents involving young people and minors by imposing age limits or ID requirements by ordinance.
“If they are trying to pass legislation in Tallahassee, I think it has to be more expansive than this,” Mr. Leesfield previously told reporters with Coconut Grove Spotlight. “I think the legislation needs to include safety provisions and rules for the users.”
Leesfield & Partners
From severe bicyclist injuries to pedestrian deaths and painful motor vehicle crashes, Leesfield & Partners has handled nearly every injury that can occur on Florida roads. In 50 years of representing the victims of these accidents, our attorneys have secured numerous record and historic verdicts throughout the state. Our skilled trial attorneys work diligently to secure the best possible amount for every client, bringing the necessary compassion and diligence to every case.
The firm is currently representing a 21-year-old man who was severely injured on an e-scooter. He suffered a serious gash to his forehead and a horrific fracture to his left arm.
This case is being handled by Partner Justin B. Shapiro.
Trial Attorney Bernardo Pimentel II is representing a man who was ejected from his bicycle following a Monroe County crash with a commercial truck driver.
“This driver’s one moment of inattention has left my client with life-altering injuries,” Mr. Pimentel said. “This frightening incident has left him in severe pain, causing a disruption to his daily life and happiness.”
Previous Cases
A pedestrian-involved incident handled by the firm resulted in the maximum recovery amount of $6 million awarded to our injured client. In that case, a woman was walking back to her office following a mid-day break when she was struck by a truck making an illegal left turn whose driver claimed not to see her in the marked crosswalk. The woman had severe injuries including skull fractures and brain hemorrhages as a result of the driver’s negligence.
A case involving a bicyclist who was hit while stopped on the shoulder of the Overseas Highway in Key West resulted in a $5,350,000 settlement for the client. In that case, the bicyclist who was stopped on the side of the road was hit by a driver who was distracted by their car’s GPS.
For a Toronto family, a vacation to Fort Myers turned into a nightmare after a pickup truck driver failed to see a young wife and mother attempting to cross the street. Leesfield & Partners attorneys recovered an $8.5 million settlement for the family following a $27 million arbitration award.
The firm previously recovered $3 million for a mother and son injured in a bicycle incident.
Another pedestrian-involved incident handled by the firm resulted in a $2.9 million recovery.
Mr. Shapiro handled the case of a minor who was hit and severely injured by a distracted driver after his school bus driver instructed him to cross the street. In that case, our minor client was waiting at the corner of the intersection just after 6 a.m. to wait for the school bus.
While it was pitch-black outside, the driver stopped in the middle of the road and turned on the vehicle’s flashing lights before signaling for the waiting children to cross the street where there was no designated crosswalk. Trusting their school bus driver, the group of children began to cross the street. A speeding driver then hit our client, causing him to be knocked unconscious and needing to be airlifted to the hospital where doctors diagnosed him with a traumatic brain injury.
Not only should the speeding driver have taken more care, but an investigation by Leesfield & Partners revealed that the school bus driver was in violation of state law by failing to ensure there was at least 200 feet of visibility in the direction of oncoming traffic. She also failed to stop in the lane that was the furthest to the right and instead stopped in a middle lane, leaving the children vulnerable to this kind of incident.
Mr. Shapiro secured a confidential settlement for the minor and his family, which was over the insurance coverage of the at-fault vehicle.
