E-scooter injuries are on the rise in Canada, with pediatricians and emergency physicians warning about the increasing number of severe injuries, particularly among younger individuals, as regulations struggle to keep up. Dr. Daniel Rosenfield, a pediatric emergency physician at SickKids hospital in Toronto, and chair of the injury prevention committee for the Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS), has witnessed a significant surge in various e-scooter-related injuries, ranging from minor scrapes to serious brain injuries and fatalities.
According to Rosenfield, the cases of e-scooter injuries at SickKids escalated from 26 in 2023 to 46 in 2024, and drastically spiked to 107 in 2025. The trend is expected to continue increasing this year. At the Montreal Children’s Hospital, Dr. Laurie Plotnick, leading the hospital’s emergency trauma team, noted a tenfold increase in e-scooter injuries since 2023, with children sustaining severe facial injuries, broken jaws, and brain injuries in non-vehicle-related accidents.
A recent CPS survey revealed alarming statistics, documenting 10 deaths, 12 ICU admissions, and 26 hospitalizations exceeding two days due to e-scooter crashes, with head injuries prevalent in nearly half of the cases. The survey highlighted that the majority of those injured were not wearing helmets, with the most severe cases involving boys aged 10 to 15.
In a separate study, hospital data from three U.K. hospitals showed a significant rise in e-scooter cases, with head injuries being among the most severe, and fewer than two percent of the injured individuals wearing helmets. These findings align closely with the experiences reported by Canadian pediatric specialists.
The article also recounts a harrowing personal account of a young boy in London, Ont., who suffered a severe e-scooter crash, highlighting the importance of wearing helmets. Dr. Rosenfield emphasized the misleading marketing of e-scooters as toys, stressing that they pose serious risks due to their speed capabilities.
Concerns were raised about the lack of clear regulations and varying laws across provinces and territories, contributing to the rising number of injuries among youth. Public education, parental awareness, and stricter enforcement were advocated as essential measures to address the escalating e-scooter-related injuries while balancing the benefits of e-scooter use in urban settings.
