Some Iowa hospitals and clinics report a dramatic increases in injuries from e-bike and e-scooter accidents. In many cases, the injuries are attributed to a lack of safety equipment or a lack of practice on the devices. Registered nurse Kelly Hilsabeck , trauma injury prevention coordinator at Emplify Health by Gundersen, says the sharp rise in people of all ages getting hurt is unfortunate, especially since most of the accidents are preventable. A survey of data from the past year across all of the healthcare company’s facilities found 53 percent of e-bike and e-scooter riders who were hurt were not wearing helmets, while 73 percent of their crashes were due to the rider losing control. One regional hospital reports an 800 percent increase in e-bike injury admissions since 2023, while e-scooter admissions were up 80 percent.
