Man forced to take seven weeks off work after Lime scooter injuries
A Brisbane man has been forced to miss nearly two months of work after fracturing both his arms in a Lime scooter crash.
Adam Nicholas, 34, was riding a Lime scooter to work through the inner-city suburb of Herston on January 19 when five minutes into his journey he flew over the handlebars.
“I was travelling at about 30km/h when the wheels locked and the scooter seemed to stop,” he told Yahoo News.
“It was crazy. I flew and landed on the pavement just missing a metal pole.
“The next thing I remember an elderly lady found me and I must’ve been out a few minutes.”
Luckily, Mr Nicholas crashed outside the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.
“I tried to put weight on both my arms to get up and realised I couldn’t use them,” he said.
“I had a double fracture in my left elbow, a double fracture in my left wrist, a single fracture in my right elbow and a single on in my right wrist.”
Mr Nicholas added he was wearing a helmet at the time, but suffered a concussion.
The 34-year-old had to miss seven weeks of work and had to get his girlfriend to help perform daily tasks, such as getting dressed given he could not use his arms as both were in slings.
“I phoned them [Lime] a couple of weeks after the crash as I wanted to get my pre-pay back,” he said.
“They were fine cancelling it but they didn’t ask if I was okay after the accident.”
Mr Nicholas said he liked the innovation but more needed to be done to make the scooters safer for people to use.
In March, Brisbane doctors revealed 88 people had been injured in just two months on the scooters.
Fifty-six per cent were men, while 44 per cent were female.
Injuries include head trauma, limb fractures, sprains and strains.
“We have ended up operating on a significant number of patients who will have life-changing injuries,” Dr Matthew Hope, from the Royal Australian College of Surgeons, said.
Lime confirmed there was a glitch affecting a handful of scooters across the globe.
The error causes the front wheel to lock randomly, which has caused injury to several riders.
Mr Nicholas said it was “pretty scary” some scooters had wheel-lock issues.
“They probably need to be recalled and looked at,” he said.
Last week, Brisbane man Dylan Pires called for the scooters to be taken off the streets after suffering facial injuries.
“It makes me feel sick to the gut this is happening,” he said.
“The fact these things are still happening – they should be off the street.”
Yahoo News asked Brisbane City Council what was being done to ensure the scooters were safe.
In response, a Brisbane City Council spokesperson said the council was “satisfied Lime responded appropriately to previous concerns about the safety of e-scooters in Brisbane”.
The spokesperson added “safety is paramount” and they expected e-scooters to operate safely in Brisbane.
The council is also taking tender proposals for another e-scooter company.
Lime scooters has been contacted for comment.
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