Electric scooters are a popular gift for kids and teens, and children are among the riders most likely to be seriously hurt. When a child is injured on a scooter in New Jersey, the law treats the claim differently in several ways: helmets, deadlines, waivers parents signed, and how a settlement is approved.
Helmet and age rules
- Helmets: anyone under 17 riding a bicycle must wear a properly fitted and fastened helmet (N.J.S.A. 39:4-10.1), and New Jersey applies its bicycle laws to low-speed electric scooters (N.J.S.A. 39:4-14.16(g)). The New Jersey Attorney General's micromobility guide lists helmets as required for scooter riders 16 and under.
- Age limits: as of this writing, state law doesn't set a minimum age for low-speed electric scooters the way it now does for e-bikes, which require riders to be at least 15 (N.J.S.A. 39:4-14.3). Shared scooter programs set their own limits. Asbury Park's program requires riders to be 18.
A child's not wearing a helmet doesn't bar a claim against a driver who caused the crash. Insurers may argue it made a head injury worse.
Who may be responsible
- A driver who hit the child. Drivers must give scooter riders room under New Jersey's safe passing law (N.J.S.A. 39:4-92.4). Scooter riders hit by cars.
- The manufacturer or seller of a defective scooter, battery or charger. Defective scooter claims.
- A property owner or public entity responsible for a dangerous defect. Road-defect claims.
Deadlines are different for children
For most injury claims, New Jersey pauses the two-year deadline while the injured person is a minor, so the time generally doesn't start running until the child turns 18 (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-21). But don't wait:
- Evidence, including video, the scooter itself and witnesses' memories, disappears in weeks, not years.
- A parent's own claim for the child's medical bills may follow a different deadline than the child's claim, so don't assume the child's extra time protects it.
- Claims against a town, county or the State involve the Tort Claims Act's 90-day notice requirement (N.J.S.A. 59:8-8). Rules for minors under the Act are more forgiving, but filing the notice within 90 days avoids the issue entirely.
New Jersey deadlines explained.
Waivers a parent signed may not hold
Scooter apps, rental companies and some retailers use liability waivers. In Hojnowski v. Vans Skate Park, 187 N.J. 323 (2006), the New Jersey Supreme Court held that a parent's pre-injury release of a child's future injury claims against a commercial recreation business is unenforceable. The same decision held that an arbitration agreement signed by the parent could be enforced. So a waiver may not stop the claim, but it may affect where it's heard. Shared scooter terms.
Settlements for children need court approval
In New Jersey, settling a minor's injury claim generally requires a court's approval at a "friendly hearing," where a judge reviews whether the settlement is fair and how the money will be protected (R. 4:44). The money is typically held for the child until they turn 18, unless the court orders otherwise. This protects children, and it means early cash offers to parents can't simply be accepted and signed.
What parents can do now
- Get your child evaluated by a doctor, including for concussion symptoms that appear later.
- Keep the scooter, helmet, charger and receipt exactly as they are.
- Photograph the scene, injuries and the scooter's label showing model and top speed.
- Get witness names, and ask nearby homes and businesses for video right away.
- Don't post about the accident on social media, and ask your child not to either.
See our scooter accidents page or talk to us about your child's injury.