SickKids doctors warn of exponential rise in serious e-scooter injuries among children

Doctors at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children are warning of a sharp and accelerating rise in severe injuries to children riding e-scooters, with trauma cases now appearing multiple times per week.

"It's been exponential really," said Dr. Suzanne Beno, a pediatric emergency physician and co-medical director of SickKids' trauma program. E-scooter injuries reached a "tipping point" in 2024 and have doubled every year since. "This year, we're seeing several, three to five, e-scooter injuries a week at SickKids."

While some children arrive with minor injuries, many are rushed to the trauma bay after high-speed crashes or collisions with vehicles. "We see a lot of patients with head injuries, thoracic injuries, some spine injuries, some abdominal injuries and a lot of fractures," Beno said. Many of these injuries require operative care, intensive care, or prolonged rehabilitation.

Dr. Carolyn Rutten, a pediatric emergency radiologist at SickKids, said e-scooter fractures are far more severe than those from typical playground accidents. "With e-scooters we see more severe fractures," she said. "The fractures are often more severely displaced than they would be for playground trauma." The hospital is also seeing an increasing number of traumatic brain injuries, including skull fractures and bleeding inside the brain that can require surgeons to remove part of the skull to save a child's life. When asked whether children should be riding e-scooters, Rutten replied, "I really wish they weren't."

Dr. Joshua Ramjist, a pediatric general surgeon and trauma medical co-director, noted that e-scooters function like motorized vehicles and produce injury patterns resembling high-speed motor vehicle accidents. "It's more than just broken bones," he said. "It's multi-organ injuries." Many children require lengthy surgeries, repeated operations, time in intensive care, and weeks or even months of rehabilitation.

Beno said prevention must go beyond helmets, requiring stronger public education, clearer regulations, better enforcement, and safer infrastructure. She also noted that privately owned e-scooters can travel much faster than rental models. SickKids researchers have documented crashes involving speeds of up to 50 kilometres per hour. The faster the speed, the higher the impact and trauma.