AKH Surgeon Describes Severe E-Scooter Accidents: 'A Few Seconds Decide a Person's Future Life'

Accident surgeon Harald Widhalm at Vienna's AKH hospital paints a grim picture of the severe injuries resulting from e-scooter accidents. He recounts the case of a 16-year-old boy who, on a manipulated e-scooter traveling faster than permitted, crashed after hitting tram tracks. Without a helmet or protective gear, he was thrown from the scooter and then run over by a car, sustaining life-threatening injuries that required multiple surgeries and intensive care.

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He was on an obviously manipulated e-scooter, which was traveling significantly faster than permitted. He wore no helmet and no adequate protective clothing. While changing lanes, he ran into the tram tracks, lost control, and was thrown off the scooter. He was then hit by an oncoming car and partially run over. He came to us with the most severe injuries.

Widhalm notes that the conversations with the families of these young victims are particularly distressing, filled with uncertainty about the patient's potential return to a normal life. He stresses that these accidents affect not only the injured individuals and their families but also society as a whole, imposing a considerable burden on the healthcare system.

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These accidents not only affect the injured themselves and their relatives but also society as a whole. Because, in addition to personal suffering, they also represent a considerable burden on our healthcare system.

The typical injuries seen in e-scooter accidents include severe head and facial injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries and fractures of the jaw and teeth, often from the head hitting the ground. Wrist and forearm fractures are also common as people instinctively try to break their fall. At higher speeds or in collisions with cars, these injuries can escalate to polytrauma, necessitating extensive medical intervention and long rehabilitation periods.

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Every injury we can prevent is therefore not only a win for the person concerned but also for society.

Widhalm calls for more consistent enforcement of e-scooter regulations and clear consequences for violations. He emphasizes that the severity of injuries is determined by the accident's dynamics, speed, collision partners, protective gear, and rider awareness. The energy involved in the entire event, not just the e-scooter itself, causes the harm, making a few seconds critical for a person's lifelong well-being.

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The injury is not caused by the e-scooter alone, but by the energy of the entire accident.