Hoverboard accident, personal injury lawyer advice needed - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

IGGYRULES · 08-10-2021, 07:24 PM

Just wondering if anyone has had experience with personal injury lawyers? My 11 year old had a hoverboard malfunction and he slammed his face into the sidewalk. 1 front tooth was able to be rebuilt, but he will need an implant in the future on the other as it could not be saved. Into the dentist for over $1k now for rebuild and flipper plus more later this year for a bridge plus more bridges as he grows, then when fully grown he gets the implant. There's also a chance he may need an implant on the other as well in the future. I reached out to a lawyer in Kelowna but she's busy and hasn't had a chance to look at the info I've sent her. She said they'd typically take it on as a percentage of what was received and that we have time to start the process.

I do have a third party witness to the malfunction (unit shut off and stopped abrubtly and as he was leaning forward and travelling at a fairly high speed. He managed to get his hands out in front of him and hurt his wrists trying to break the fall. His bike helmet "beak" also took some of the impact thankfully.

I'm thinking about reaching out to the manufacturer to see if we can come to some sort of settlement but not sure if that's a good idea or not even though they'd likely come out ahead this way. Would like to get this behind me one way or another. Any advice or experience is appreciated.

Sliver · 08-10-2021, 07:29 PM

Ouch, sorry that happened to him. Shout out to your awesome parenting that had him wearing a helmet. I've seen a lot of kids on those sans helmet. Good thing it took some of the force, but what a shame about the teeth. That sounds scary and so painful. Good luck with the lawyer.

IGGYRULES · 08-10-2021, 07:37 PM

Thanks. Should have been full on hockey gear. Hindsight should have had a BMX helmet on with face guard. Who would think though. It's one thing if he crashes due to his own error or misuse but it's another if it's due to a malfunction.

IGGYRULES · 08-10-2021, 07:40 PM

Here's the damage.

GGG · 08-10-2021, 07:43 PM

Is it a real manufacturer with a North American head office?

I think either way you will be in tough to get anything but you at least have a chance in a Canada or US company. If it was an Ali or Amazon 3rd party I doubt it would be worth your time.

The other thing id do the math on is if your damages are 2k in dental work plus 3k in future dental work that doesn’t pay for many legal hours.

My daughter keeps bugging me for one of these and what happened to your son is my fear. Not much time to recover if something goes wrong compared to a bike or skate board.

My brother did the exact same thing when he was 10 skate boarding. Looked identical. He just needed crowns though.

IGGYRULES · 08-10-2021, 08:02 PM

Office is in California. Canada fulfillment is Mississauga. It's an XPIRIT unit. It's a fun unit but dangerous.

Weitz · 08-10-2021, 08:09 PM

Did you read the liability release before riding? Likely was one in the box.

CorsiHockeyLeague · 08-10-2021, 08:18 PM

I'm not going to lie, I sincerely thought the thread title was a joke.

IGGYRULES · 08-10-2021, 08:20 PM

There are risks outlined within the manual but one of them is not "the machine could shut off suddenly and violently". Did not see a liability release, besides I don't think it would be applicable for a defect. Like I said, if it was his error or screw up we own it. When the unit shuts off and throws him off the board due to wheel lockup then I feel the manufacturer should be liable as that is not an outlined risk nor a risk a reasonable person would expect or accept. Battery still had over 75% charge as well.

topfiverecords · 08-10-2021, 08:22 PM

Maybe Marty McFly could go back and fix it?

fundmark19 · 08-10-2021, 08:31 PM

I am sure you have done the same thing but I googled hoverboard randomly stop and this came up. https://www.streetsaw.com/pages/hove...-off-by-itself On the page it says that the problem is from the battery circuit board and sounds like it is a safety feature that the board shuts down instead of causing damage to the board.

If this is the same cause for what happened to your Son it might not be a defect and just a very poorly planned safety feature.

Bunk · 08-10-2021, 08:32 PM

First of all, I would refrain from calling it an accident. Accident implies no one is to blame.

cam_wmh · 08-10-2021, 08:40 PM

I see these things are sold at Walmart too. Can they be liable also? (if you bought it there)

IGGYRULES · 08-10-2021, 08:46 PM

It was bought direct from manufacturer site. Don't think the Wal Marts etc could really be held liable unless there was negligence on their part.

Weitz · 08-10-2021, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IGGYRULES

It was bought direct from manufacturer site. Don't think the Wal Marts etc could really be held liable unless there was negligence on their part.

You’re likely barking up a tree that’s going to waste a lot of time and cost you more than you can win. I’m not a lawyer though. But one did laugh at you in this thread.

IGGYRULES · 08-10-2021, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fundmark19

I am sure you have done the same thing but I googled hoverboard randomly stop and this came up. https://www.streetsaw.com/pages/hove...-off-by-itself On the page it says that the problem is from the battery circuit board and sounds like it is a safety feature that the board shuts down instead of causing damage to the board.

If this is the same cause for what happened to your Son it might not be a defect and just a very poorly planned safety feature.

Yes I did see that and it's possible that's what happened, the unit was new at Christmas and only ridden a dozen times or so and fully charged. I'd say that's a defect and dangerous although I understand the reasoning for it. It should slow down and then power off or give an audible warning though the built in speakers.

chemgear · 08-10-2021, 09:00 PM

Ouch!

I knew somebody that did this to a whole bunch of teeth while on (or rather off of) an e-scooter. It ended up costing a lot of money, time and pain.

IGGYRULES · 08-10-2021, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weitz

You’re likely barking up a tree that’s going to waste a lot of time and cost you more than you can win. I’m not a lawyer though. But one did laugh at you in this thread.

Oh I understand where he's coming from, the units are inherently risky when operating properly and we knew that. My wife landed on her ass/back hard when she tried it, operator error though and we knew that was a possibility

If he was pissing around and crashed and hurt himself, then obviously I wouldn't even be considering this. Even though he had limited time on it he had gotten pretty competent on it and likely was more complacent than he should have been. Bothersome when travelling on a sidewalk (likely at full speed) with less than 1% grade, full battery and the unit craters causing him to fall forward so hard that he hurts his wrists (sore for a couple weeks) breaking the fall and still hits his face on the cement..... Something is wrong with that and they need to address it IMO.

Regardless I would recommend a full face helmet when riding these if anyone is considering getting one.

Regulator75 · 08-10-2021, 09:26 PM

Please put a spoiler tag on that pic... damn.

Ironhorse · 08-10-2021, 09:56 PM

Contact Vlad The Impaler here on CP. I believe he practices injury law.