Disputes over e-scooters: Victims of accidents should receive compensation more easily

Victims of accidents should be able to obtain compensation more easily in the future. The Federal Council passed a law that had been passed by the Bundestag in July.

Anyone who is hit by an electric scooter or trips over an overturned e-scooter on the sidewalk is now often left with the cost of treatment. Stricter rules for landlords are now to be introduced: owner liability regardless of fault. So far, e-scooters are exempt from this form of liability.

This means: In the future, the operator of an e-scooter fleet will have to cover the costs of the accident if it is not possible to prosecute the person who actually caused the accident. According to the government, this is usually the case. It should also no longer be necessary to prove that a driver parked a vehicle incorrectly. According to the government, owner liability can also be asserted directly against the insurer.

Drastically more accidents

From 2020 to 2023, the number of e-scooters in Germany increased from 180,000 to 990,000. In 2020, the Federal Statistical Office recorded 5,860 people involved in accidents involving small electric vehicles. In 2024 there were already 12,509.