bird-scooter-accident-attorneysCalifornia property owners owe a legal duty to lawfully present visitors to protect them from dangerous conditions that they know about or reasonably should know about to prevent foreseeable injuries. When a property owner violates its legal duty, it can be liable to pay damages to a victim who is injured as a result. In Hacala v. Bird Rides, Inc., Cal. Ct. App. Case No. B316374, the Court of Appeal considered whether Bird Rides, Inc., the app company behind Bird Scooters, owed a duty of care to a woman who suffered serious injuries when she tripped and fell over a scooter that had been parked in violation of the company’s permit with the City of Los Angeles.

Factual and Procedural Background

Bird Rides, Inc. is an app company that people can use to rent electric scooters to quickly get around Los Angeles. The company launched its scooter rental service in L.A. in 2017 and parked numerous scooters at docking stations located throughout the downtown areas. At the time it applied for a permit, Bird agreed to several rules set by the city, including not allowing its scooters to be parked within 25 feet of a street corner with a single pedestrian ramp. The company also agreed to have staff available 24 hours per day to remove scooters in emergencies and between 7 am to 10 pm to re-park scooters at docking stations that had been left away from them. Since Bird’s system is dockless, the company can locate and track its scooters throughout the city, and riders are told that they can leave them anywhere.