Doctors warn of ‘exponential’ rise in serious e-scooter injuries among kids

Physicians at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children are raising alarms about a significant and rapidly growing number of serious injuries sustained by children using e-scooters. Dr. Suzanne Beno, a pediatric emergency physician, described the influx of young patients with traumatic injuries and complex fractures as "exponential."

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It’s been exponential really.

According to Dr. Beno, e-scooter injuries reached a "tipping point" in 2024 and have doubled each year since. The hospital is now seeing three to five such injuries weekly. While some incidents result in minor harm, a concerning number of children are being admitted to the trauma bay following high-speed crashes or collisions with vehicles, suffering head, chest, spine, and abdominal injuries, alongside numerous fractures.

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This year, we’re seeing several, three to five, e-scooter injuries a week at SickKids.

Dr. Carolyn Rutten, a pediatric emergency radiologist, noted that the fractures observed are often more severe and displaced than those typically seen from playground accidents. The hospital is also documenting an increasing rate of traumatic brain injuries, including skull fractures and intracranial bleeding that can necessitate life-saving surgery. Dr. Rutten expressed a personal wish that children would not ride e-scooters.

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A lot of these injuries are requiring operative care, intensive care or prolonged rehabilitation.

Dr. Joshua Ramjist, a pediatric general surgeon, emphasized that the severity of these injuries is often underestimated by families. He likened the injury patterns to those seen in high-speed motor vehicle accidents, highlighting that many involve multiple body parts and lead to prolonged recovery periods, including lengthy surgeries, intensive care stays, and months of rehabilitation. Prevention efforts, doctors suggest, must extend beyond helmet use to include public education, stricter regulations, enforcement, and safer infrastructure.

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With e-scooters we see more severe fractures.