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Death Points to Injury Risks of Segway Scooters

Segway injury risks have become of recent focus. The death of a British businessman who owned the company that manufactures Segway scooters this week, has once again underscored the vastly underestimated injury risks from using these high tech devices.  A new study also released this week confirms that persons injured using Segway scooters have a higher chance of being admitted to hospitals, than pedestrians involved in collisions with automobiles.

Earlier this week, British businessman Jim Heselden whose purchased the company that produces the popular Segway scooters, died after an accident involving his Segway.  He was apparently riding the Segway when it went off the edge of a cliff in Yorkshire England.  Heselden had purchased the company just one year ago.  The Segway was invented by American Dean Kamen, who established the company, and sold it to Heselden last year.

Witnesses reported seeing a man on a Segway falling off a cliff and into the River Wharfe, about 140 miles north of London.  A Segway scooter was recovered from the scene of the tragedy. Heselden was not just a businessman, but a highly admired philanthropist whose charitable activities made him one of the most admired men in Britain.  His death has garnered much attention worldwide, not least among the more than 80,000 persons who own Segway scooters around the world.

There is no indication yet about whether the accident occurred because of any defects with the Segway scooter that Heselden was riding at the time.  However, researchers are taking this accident as an opportunity to make consumers aware of the risks from riding these eco-friendly machines.  The use of Segway scooters has increased over recent years, and much of the spike has been attributed to the efforts of environmentalists, who encourage use of the eco-friendly scooter as a way to reduce your carbon foot print.

However, safety groups are urging the Consumer Product Safety Commission to take a closer look at <strong>Segway injury risks</strong>.  A case study was released earlier this week which indicated that there were 41 Segway scooter-related injuries that were documented at the George Washington University Hospital.  These injuries occurred between April 2005 and November 2008.  Out of these, 10 accidents resulted in hospitalization.  That makes it close to a quarter of Segway-related injuries that resulted in hospitalization.  Four of these injuries also resulted in the persons having to be rushed to the intensive care unit.

Besides, the researchers found that injuries from Segway scooters could actually be more serious than even pedestrian accidents with injuries.  When researchers compared admission rates for injuries from Segway scooters with other patients who were admitted to emergency rooms at George Washington University, they found that more numbers of persons injured by Segway scooters had to be admitted to hospital, while compared to pedestrians injured in car accidents.

It seems to California auto accident lawyers that the injury risks from these scooters have been largely brushed under the carpet, and the death of the company owner should be a wake-up call.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of personal injuries. Please visit our website at http://www.robertreeveslaw.com/. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us at contact@robertreeveslaw.com.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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