Call 911 immediately if there is any possibility of a head injury, spinal injury, or serious trauma. Do not move your child if they complain of neck or back pain. Even if your child appears fine, take them to the emergency room the same day — traumatic brain injuries, internal injuries, and spinal trauma frequently do not present symptoms immediately after a crash. Do not repair or return the bike. Do not speak to any insurance company before consulting an attorney. Document everything — the scene, your child’s injuries, the bike, and every symptom and behavioral change that follows in the days and weeks after the accident. Then contact a personal injury attorney who handles e-bike injury cases in California.

Yes. Absolutely and immediately. This is one of the most important steps a parent can take after an e-bike accident. Traumatic brain injuries are among the most common serious outcomes in e-bike crashes and they frequently do not produce obvious symptoms in the immediate aftermath. Adrenaline and shock suppress pain signals. A child may seem entirely normal for 24 to 72 hours before symptoms of a concussion or more serious brain injury become apparent. Those symptoms can include unusual irritability, foggy thinking, difficulty concentrating, personality changes, headaches, and sleep disruption. An emergency room visit the same day creates a documented medical record connecting any injuries to the accident. That record is critical to a legal claim. A gap between the accident and the first medical visit is one of the primary arguments insurance companies use to minimize or deny injury claims.

Provide only your name and contact information. Tell them you are consulting with an attorney and end the call. You are not legally required to give a recorded statement to any insurance company and doing so almost always hurts your family’s claim. Insurance adjusters are trained to ask questions that sound routine but are designed to get you to minimize your child’s injuries, introduce doubt about the severity of what happened, or say something that reduces what they owe. Do not describe the accident in detail. Do not estimate your child’s current condition. Do not accept any offer or sign any document before speaking with a personal injury attorney.

Yes. If an e-bike was marketed and sold as California compliant when it was actually capable of producing power levels that exceed the legal limit, the manufacturer and potentially the retailer who sold it may share legal responsibility for injuries that result. This is called product liability. In California, manufacturers and sellers can be held strictly liable for injuries caused by defective or misrepresented products. A product liability claim can be pursued alongside a negligence claim against any other party whose actions contributed to the accident. As personal injury attorneys we investigate every available source of responsibility in an e-bike injury case — not just who caused the crash, but who put the child on a bike that was not what it was represented to be.

In most cases the driver of the vehicle that struck your child bears primary responsibility if their negligence caused the collision — running a red light, failing to yield, distracted driving, or any other breach of the duty of care owed to cyclists and pedestrians. However additional parties may also bear responsibility depending on the circumstances. If the road or bike path was improperly maintained, a property owner or government entity may be liable. If the e-bike’s handling or braking contributed to the severity of the crash, the manufacturer may be liable. California’s comparative fault rules mean that responsibility can be distributed across multiple parties and your family can pursue all of them simultaneously. Do not assume the driver’s insurance policy is the only source of recovery available.

California’s general statute of limitations for personal injury claims is two years from the date of the injury. However for injured minors the rules are different and more protective. When the injured person is under 18 at the time of the accident, the two year clock typically does not begin until they turn 18 — meaning a child injured at age 10 would have until age 20 to file a personal injury claim in their own name. A parent can file a claim on the child’s behalf before that time. There are exceptions to this rule, particularly when the claim involves a government entity, where the window can be as short as six months from the date of injury. Do not assume you know your deadline without confirming it with an attorney.

The location of the accident affects which legal theories apply but does not eliminate your family’s right to pursue compensation. If the private property was owned or managed by another party — a business, a homeowner, a school, or a recreational facility — that owner may have a duty to maintain safe conditions for riders. If the accident was caused by a defect in the bike itself, product liability applies regardless of where the accident occurred. If another person’s negligence caused the crash on private property, standard negligence principles apply. Contact an attorney to assess the specific circumstances because the facts of where and how the accident happened determine which claims are available and against whom.

Yes and it should be evaluated by a medical professional immediately. Personality changes, unusual irritability, difficulty concentrating, memory problems, mood swings, increased emotional sensitivity, and changes in sleep patterns are all recognized symptoms of traumatic brain injury, including concussion and more serious forms of TBI. These symptoms can appear days or even weeks after a head impact and are frequently missed or attributed to stress or emotional upset in the immediate aftermath of an accident. A neuropsychological evaluation by a specialist can document the nature and severity of the cognitive and behavioral changes. That documentation is critical both for your child’s treatment and for a personal injury claim that accurately reflects the full impact of what happened. Do not wait for symptoms to resolve on their own. Have your child evaluated and get that evaluation documented in writing.

Electric bikes can be safe for older teenagers when properly supervised, properly sized, and operated within California’s legal class system. Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes are limited to 20 miles per hour and are permitted on bike paths and roads. The safety concern that California lawmakers are currently addressing is that many e-bikes sold as compliant with the 750 watt legal limit are actually capable of producing significantly more power in short bursts. This means a bike purchased and labeled as legal may behave more like a motorized vehicle than a bicycle when a child accelerates. Before purchasing any e-bike for a child, verify the class, confirm the peak wattage not just the continuous wattage, and ensure the child has completed a safety course.

California law requires e-bike riders to be at least 16 years old to operate a Class 3 e-bike, which can reach speeds of up to 28 miles per hour. Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes have no minimum age requirement under state law, though local ordinances may impose restrictions. Regardless of age, California law requires all riders under 18 to wear a helmet when operating an e-bike. Younger children on Class 1 or 2 e-bikes should always be supervised and should ride in bike lanes or paths away from vehicle traffic.

Under current California law, electric bikes are limited to 750 watts of continuous motor power. However the law does not currently specify whether that limit applies to continuous or peak power output. This ambiguity has allowed manufacturers to label bikes as 750 watt compliant while engineering motors capable of significantly higher burst power output. Assembly Bill 1557, introduced in 2026, is attempting to close this loophole by applying the limit to peak output. Until that bill passes and is enforced, parents should ask specifically about peak wattage when purchasing an e-bike and should be aware that a labeled 750W bike may not be operating within the spirit of California law.