SickKids calls spike in e-scooter, e-bike injuries a ‘concerning’ trend

The Hospital for Sick Children says it is seeing a marked increase in the number of e-scooter and e-bicycle injuries in kids, calling it an “emerging and concerning trend.”

The hospital says it treated 16 e-scooter injuries in June and July of this year compared to just five over the same period a year ago.

Since 2020, the hospital says there has been a “significant increase” in the number of serious injuries from battery-powered devices with e-scooters accounting for 85 per cent of injuries from 2021 to 2024. In 56 per cent of those injuries, the child or youth was not wearing a helmet, according to the SickKids Trauma Registry.

“The injuries that we see vary from sprains to broken bones, most commonly head injuries,” Dr. Suzanne Beno, Medical Co-Director of the Trauma Program and Emergency Physician at SickKids tells CityNews. “We had a cervical spine injury and we also have had many children who have presented with what we call polytrauma, so they’ve got multiple different injuries so they’ve got a head injury, they have abdominal injuries, internal bleeding, fractures and so forth. The injuries can be quite significant.”

The hospital says children under the age of 16 should not operate e-devices as they may not have the knowledge, strength, or ability to manage these devices safely, putting them at risk of serious injury in the event of a fall or collision.

For those operating e-devices, the hospital says they should always wear a proper-fitting helmet, follow the manufacturer’s warnings on age, height and weight restrictions, never modify them to increase speed or bypass safety features, and never operate them with multiple riders.