'Team Molly' Parents Sue E-Bike Company Over Daughter's Death

[sl8]

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/01/style/team-molly-rad-power-bikes-lawsuit.html

‘Team Molly’ Parents Sue E-Bike Company Over Daughter’s Death

An online community offered support for Molly Steinsapir, a 12-year-old who experienced brain trauma in an accident last year. Her mother and father have filed suit against Rad Power Bikes.

By Katherine Rosman
Aug. 1, 2022


The parents of a girl who died after an e-bike accident filed a wrongful-death lawsuit on Monday against the Seattle e-bike company Rad Power Bikes.

In the suit, Kaye and Jonathan Steinsapir, the parents of Molly Steinsapir, who died last year at age 12, claim that flaws in the bike’s design made it difficult for riders to slow down and stop as the bike gained speed while going downhill.

The suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, also argues that Rad Power Bikes engaged in “inappropriate marketing of e-bikes to children,” adding that the company failed to “adequately warn about the dangers of children operating e-bikes.”

In a statement, a Rad Power Bikes spokesman said: “The entire Rad Power Bikes team extends its deepest condolences to the Steinsapir family on the tragic loss of Molly Steinsapir. We are aware of the lawsuit that the family has filed. Rad Power Bikes does not comment on pending litigation.”

[...]

[bucolic_frolic]

1. I would suspect children lack the experience, and muscular control and development

to successfully control bikes like these.

[CentralMass]

2. Well this is not helpful but I don't think that I would have bought an ebike for my daughters when

they were 12.

[Ziggysmom]

3. Aren't riders of E Bikes in CA supposed to be 16? I guess it depends on the class

of bike per the CA DMV. Still, 12 years old seems too young for one of these; even 20 mph is pretty fast for a kid on a bike. The parents are both lawyers, the dad worked on the Michael Jackson estate so it will be an interesting case to follow. May poor Molly RIP




CA DMV:
Electric Bicycles.

An electric bicycle is a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an electric motor of less than 750 watts. Three classes of electric bicycles have been established:

Class 1: A low speed pedal-assisted electric bicycle equipped with a motor which provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and ceases to provide assistance when a speed of 20 mph is reached.
Class 2: A low speed throttle-assisted electric bicycle equipped with a motor used exclusively to propel the bicycle and NOT capable of providing assistance when a speed of 20 mph is reached.
Class 3: A low speed pedal-assisted electric bicycle equipped with a speedometer, and a motor which provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and ceases to provide assistance when a speed of 28 mph is reached.
The operator of a Class 3 electric bicycle:

Must be 16 years old or older.

[Nittersing]

4. I lost control of my regular ol' bicycle when I was a kid

Just learning to ride and Dad came home from work and I hopped on to show off... house was on a small hill... which I started rolling down and kinda panicked and ran into a fire hydrant.

Don't know if electric would have been any different for me.

[sop]

5. Was she wearing a helmet?

They're required for anyone under 18 in California.

[Probatim]

6. I was the second person on the scene of a fatal e-bike accident 2 years ago.

The guy was in his late 60s and lost control of his e-bike at an intersection. Without a helmet, he slammed face first into a metal light pole.

I've often wondered what roles his age and the complexity of the bike had in the accident. The lack of helmet certainly didn't help, but I imagined he was trying to beat a car at the intersection and couldn't maneuver the sidewalk on the other side.

These accidents are all tragedies.