SickKids Hospital seeing ‘tremendous increase’ in e-scooter injuries, doctor says

SickKids is raising the alarm bell on the rise of injuries bringing kids and teens through the ER related to e-scooters.

An emergency room doctor at Toronto’s SickKids Hospital says physicians are already seeing a “tremendous increase” in both the number and severity of e-scooter injuries this year.

Dr. Daniel Rosenfield told CP24 on Tuesday morning that the emergency department at SickKids saw 16 e-scooter injuries in the month of May alone.

Rosenfield said this marks the continuation of a concerning trend that the downtown hospital has seen in recent years.

According to SickKids, there were 16 e-scooter injuries in June and July of last year, up from just five in June and July of 2023.

“We’ve seen major head injuries, major inter-abdominal injuries, significant fractures,” Rosenfield said.

“The majority of the injuries we’ve seen are head injuries and 80 per cent of our users have not been wearing helmets when they had these injuries.”

Rosenfield said the most severe injuries included significant facial fractures and internal bleeding. Some resulted in hospital and even ICU admission.

“The speeds that these scooters can reach so quickly, the acceleration that’s found within these, much like an electric car, is unlike anything we’ve ever seen,” he said.

“My six-year-old on his scooter with his foot power cannot get anywhere near the speeds these kids get at two and three seconds.”

Recent hospital data from 2020 to 2024 found that about 25 per cent of patients at SickKids who presented with e-scooter injuries were admitted for serious injuries.

Rosenfield said experts do not recommend e-scooter use for anyone under the age of 16, adding that anyone riding one should wear a helmet to prevent serious injuries in the event of a collision.

“We are really lucky that we haven’t seen any fatalities to date, but I honestly think as this trend continues, there is a good possibility that could occur.”