E-Bike Injuries to Kids in Florida: What Parents Need to Know About Liability
A 14-year-old was crossing in a marked crosswalk on his e-bike when a driver failed to yield. He was dragged under the vehicle and pinned until the car could be lifted off him. Emergency surgery. Screws in his femur. Days in intensive care. And a fracture through the growth plate of his leg — the kind of injury whose full consequences may not be known until he's finished growing.
We recovered the full policy limits for that family: $750,000 (gross, before attorney's fees and costs). Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome; every case is unique and decided on its own facts.
We're writing this post because that case is not unusual anymore. E-bikes are everywhere in Northeast Florida, more kids are riding them, and more kids are getting hit. Here's what parents should understand about how these cases actually work.
Who is liable when a child on an e-bike is hit in a crosswalk?
In most crosswalk cases, the driver.
Under Florida Statute § 316.130, a driver must yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk. And under § 316.2065, a person riding a bicycle in a crosswalk has the rights and duties of a pedestrian. A driver who fails to yield and strikes a child in a crosswalk is, in the ordinary case, the at-fault party.
Two caveats worth knowing. First, Florida's e-bike definition treats an electric bicycle like a bicycle only if it has functional pedals, a motor under 750 watts, and a top assisted speed of 28 mph or less. Anything faster or more powerful is a motor vehicle, with different rules — a distinction our partner Shannon Schott wrote about for Jacksonville Mom. Second, Florida is a comparative-fault state. Insurers will look for any argument that the child contributed — speed, lighting, helmet, whether he "darted out." Those arguments rarely defeat a crosswalk case, but they're used to discount it, which is why documentation at the scene matters.
Why a child's injury is valued differently than an adult's
Children's bones are still growing, and the growing happens at the growth plates near the ends of long bones. A fracture through a growth plate — classified on the Salter-Harris scale — carries a risk that adults don't face: the bone may stop growing correctly. For a femur, that can mean a leg-length discrepancy, an altered gait, a permanent limp, specialized footwear, and surgeries years after the crash.
The legal problem is timing. Settlements happen when the case is ready; growth happens on the child's schedule. An orthopedic surgeon may not be able to give a real prognosis until six months, a year, or more after the injury. Valuing the case properly means working closely with the treating physician, understanding what the follow-up appointments will and won't reveal, and refusing to settle a future-damages case at a present-damages number.
It also means protecting the recovery. Settlements for minors in Florida are subject to court oversight, and a recovery meant to fund surgeries at age 19 has to be structured so that it's still there at 19.
Why policy limits decide so much
Florida doesn't require drivers to carry bodily injury liability coverage at all. The minimum is $10,000 in PIP and $10,000 in property damage liability. Many drivers carry more; many don't.
So the first job in any serious child-injury case is finding every available policy: the driver's bodily injury limits, any umbrella policy, the vehicle owner's coverage if different from the driver's, and your own family's uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage under § 627.727. The limits set the ceiling. In the case above, we recovered the driver's full limits. When limits are low, UM coverage is often the difference between a meaningful recovery and none.
If you don't know whether your own auto policy includes UM, check today. It's the coverage that protects your family from other people's bad decisions.
What to do if your child is hit
1. Get medical care within 14 days. Florida's no-fault law, § 627.736, requires initial treatment within 14 days of the crash or PIP benefits are forfeited. With a child, go immediately regardless — adrenaline hides injuries, and kids underreport pain.
2. Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer. You have no obligation to. Early, friendly-sounding calls are designed to lock in statements — "he's doing better," "he was going pretty fast" — that get used months later. Here's exactly what to say.
3. Document everything. Photos of the crosswalk, the vehicle, the bike, the injuries. The crash report. Witness names. The e-bike itself — don't repair or discard it.
4. Don't sign anything. Early offers arrive before anyone knows how a growing child will heal. A release signed at month two can't be reopened at year two when the surgery is scheduled.
5. Know the deadline. Under § 95.11, most negligence claims accruing on or after March 24, 2023 must be filed within two years. Claims involving minors carry their own rules, and the safe course is to get advice early rather than rely on tolling.
Why this case sits at the center of what we do
Belkis Plata is board certified in Juvenile Law by The Florida Bar. Our juvenile defense and child injury practices share the same center: a child, a family, and a recovery that has to last into adulthood. The parent in this case has hired Belkis twice. That's the measure we care about.
If your child was hit on a bike, an e-bike, or on foot anywhere in Jacksonville or Northeast Florida, call us. The consultation is free, you pay nothing up front, and if we don't win, you owe us nothing — no attorney's fee and no case costs.
Read our full guide to e-bike crashes in Florida.
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This post is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is unique and decided on its own facts.