Miami Scooter & Moped Accident Lawyer

Miami Accident Lawyer Advertising. The Perazzo Law Firm, North Miami Beach, FL. This page is general information, not legal advice.

In Florida, a moped or a motorized scooter is not a “motor vehicle” — so it carries no PIP. There is no automatic no-fault bucket for your medical bills the way there is after a car crash. That does not mean there is no recovery. It means the money has to come from somewhere else, and finding it is the job. Call Miami Accident Lawyers at The Perazzo Law Firm at (786) 529-7411 for a FREE case evaluation, 24/7.

Scooters, mopeds, and shared micromobility devices move a lot of people around Miami-Dade — commuters, delivery riders, students, tourists. When a car turns across one, the rider absorbs the entire crash. Then the rider finds out that the insurance system built around cars was not built around them. A Miami scooter accident lawyer who understands that gap can help you identify the policies that actually respond.

Why a Scooter or Moped Rider Has No PIP in Florida

This is the fact that changes everything about your claim, and it comes straight from two statutes.

Fla. Stat. § 316.003(46) defines “motor vehicle” for Florida’s traffic code, and its exclusion list expressly names bicycles, electric bicycles, motorized scooters, electric personal assistive mobility devices, and mopeds, among others.
Fla. Stat. § 627.732(3) — the definition that controls the Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law — requires a self-propelled vehicle with four or more wheels that is both designed and required to be licensed for use on Florida highways.

A moped is designed to travel on not more than three wheels (§ 316.003(44)). A motorized scooter is designed to travel on not more than three wheels (§ 316.003(48)). A micromobility device is a narrow, individual-use device of roughly 50 pounds or less (§ 316.003(41)). All three fail the four-wheel requirement outright — they never even reach the licensing question. The obligation to carry no-fault security under § 627.733(1) attaches to owners of § 627.732(3) motor vehicles, so it never attaches to these devices at all.

For contrast, here is what PIP would have paid on a car under § 627.736(1)(a): 80% of reasonable medical expenses up to $10,000, plus a $5,000 death benefit — with initial care required within 14 days of the crash, and a $2,500 ceiling if no qualified provider finds an emergency medical condition. On a scooter or moped, that bucket does not exist. Our explainer on scooter accidents and insurance claims covers the coverage side in more detail.

Can you reach a household auto policy’s PIP instead?

This is the follow-up question every rider asks, and the honest answer is a qualified one. Fla. Stat. § 627.736(4)(e) extends PIP benefits to a person injured “while not an occupant of a self-propelled vehicle.” A moped and a motor-powered scooter are self-propelled, which likely places a rider outside that pathway — the same result Florida has long applied to motorcyclists. But whether a household policy can be reached still depends on the specific device and the specific policy language. That is a question worth having a lawyer answer before you assume the answer is no.

No PIP Does Not Mean No Recovery — Where the Money Comes From

Because there is no no-fault buffer absorbing the first bills, the claim goes directly at fault-based coverage. A thorough investigation looks for every policy that could respond.

The at-fault driver’s bodily injury liability coverage. Usually the primary target when a car strikes a rider. But Florida does not require ordinary private passenger vehicles to carry bodily injury liability at all, so this well is sometimes dry — which is exactly why the next item matters so much. See our Florida car accident page for how driver-side coverage is investigated.
Your own or a resident relative’s UM/UIM coverage (Fla. Stat. § 627.727). Because of the bodily-injury gap above, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is often the coverage that matters most in these claims. Whether it applies at all turns on the policy language — bring the declarations page to your consultation.
Health insurance or an employer ERISA plan. Often the practical first payer for treatment, subject to subrogation and lien rights that have to be negotiated.
Med-pay, where you or a household member carry it.
The rental or shared-scooter operator’s commercial liability coverage, where the device or its maintenance played a role.
Product liability against a manufacturer, distributor, or operator when a brake, throttle, battery, or steering defect caused or worsened the injury.

A single case can involve several of these at once. We fight for the maximum compensation available under the policies that apply to your case.

What Were You Riding? The Definition Decides the Claim

Florida sorts two-and-three-wheeled devices into legal categories that look similar and behave very differently in an insurance claim. Before anything else, we identify what you were on.

Device	Definition	A “motor vehicle” under ch. 316?	Where your claim belongs
Bicycle	§ 316.003(4) — human power only	No	Miami bicycle accident page
Electric bicycle	§ 316.003(23) — operable pedals and a seat, motor under 750W	No	Miami bicycle accident page
Motorized scooter	§ 316.003(48) — motor-powered, with or without a seat, three wheels or fewer, not capable of exceeding 20 mph	No — expressly excluded	This page
Micromobility device	§ 316.003(41) — individual-use motorized device, roughly 20–36 in. wide, 50 lbs or less	Generally no — most also meet the excluded “motorized scooter” definition; see the note below	This page
Moped	§ 316.003(44) — pedals for human power, a seat, three wheels or fewer, small motor	No — expressly excluded	This page
Motorcycle	§ 316.003(47) — “any motor vehicle” with a seat, three wheels or fewer	Yes	Miami motorcycle accident page

Notice the mechanism in the last row. A motorcycle is defined as “any motor vehicle” with a seat — and because § 316.003(46) affirmatively removes mopeds and motorized scooters from “motor vehicle,” a moped or e-scooter cannot be a motorcycle under Florida’s traffic code. That is a statutory line, not an argument. It is also why a moped rider’s claim is built differently than a motorcyclist’s, even though both were on two wheels when a driver turned in front of them.

The quick intake test: Does it have pedals and a seat? Moped or electric bicycle. No pedals, tops out around 20 mph? Motorized scooter or micromobility device. Titled, tagged, and registered as a motorcycle? Motorcycle — different rules, different page.

One genuine gray area is worth naming. A “motorized scooter” is capped at 20 mph, while a “micromobility device” may run to 28 mph — and many privately owned high-performance scooters sold today exceed both. Where a device like that falls under Florida law is an open question. We evaluate it case by case rather than assume an answer.

Who May Be Liable for a Miami Scooter or Moped Crash

Liability in these cases is rarely limited to one party. Depending on the facts, several may share it.

The at-fault driver. Left turns across a rider’s path, right hooks, failure to yield, doorings, and unsafe passes all put a driver’s conduct squarely at issue. A driver’s duty of care does not shrink because the other party was on a scooter.
The rental or shared-device operator. Claims can involve defective or unmaintained brakes, throttles, and batteries; devices left in a dangerous position; or no response to a reported fault. Florida also imposes a direct statutory duty: under § 316.2128(4), a company that offers scooters or micromobility devices for hire must secure all such devices in any area of the state where the National Weather Service has issued an active tropical storm or hurricane warning. A rider or pedestrian injured by an unsecured device during a named-storm warning may have a claim built on that duty.
The manufacturer or seller. Florida recognizes strict products liability (West v. Caterpillar Tractor Co., 336 So. 2d 80 (Fla. 1976)), which does not require proving negligence — only that the product was defective when it left the defendant’s control and that the defect caused the injury.
A property owner or contractor. An unmarked excavation, a collapsed grate, debris left in a bike lane, or a dangerous condition on a walkway can put a premises or roadway-maintenance defendant into the case.

“I Signed the App’s Terms” — What a Rental Waiver Actually Does

“I clicked the terms, so I have no case” is an assumption, not a legal conclusion. Here is the honest picture, including the parts that are not in your favor.

A waiver binds only the person who signed it. It does nothing to a claim against the driver who hit you — that driver never signed the rental company’s terms and cannot borrow them. Where a motorist caused the crash, that claim sits entirely outside anything you agreed to in an app. The same goes for an arbitration clause: it governs your dispute with the rental company, not your case against the at-fault driver.
Florida is relatively favorable to defendants on ordinary-negligence waivers. In Sanislo v. Give Kids the World, Inc., 157 So. 3d 256 (Fla. 2015), the Florida Supreme Court enforced an exculpatory clause to bar a negligence action even though the clause never used the word “negligence.” If you have read that these waivers routinely fail in Florida, that is not an accurate description of the law here.
A waiver cannot reach a strict products liability claim. In Harrell v. BMS Partners, LLC, 350 So. 3d 361 (Fla. 4th DCA 2022), the exculpatory clause barred the ordinary negligence count — but the court held it did not bar the strict products liability counts, and that a clause absolving a retailer of strict liability for defective products violates public policy. A defective brake or throttle claim is pled in strict liability, which is precisely where that ruling matters.
Minors are treated differently. In Kirton v. Fields, 997 So. 2d 349 (Fla. 2008), the Florida Supreme Court held a parent’s pre-injury release on behalf of a minor unenforceable in a tort action arising from a commercial activity. The Legislature later narrowed that in § 744.301(3), which permits a guardian to waive claims against a commercial activity provider — but only for risks inherent to the activity, and only with specific statutory notice formatting. A defective or unmaintained device is arguably not an inherent risk of riding at all.
Waivers are generally understood not to shield gross negligence, willful or wanton misconduct, or intentional torts.

Bring the rental agreement or app terms to your consultation. What they cover — and what they cannot touch — is worth an actual read rather than an assumption.

Where You Were Riding Changes Your Rights

Florida gives scooter and micromobility riders a set of rights that is easy to overlook — including by the driver who hit you and the adjuster handling the claim. Under Fla. Stat. § 316.2128(1), the operator of a motorized scooter or micromobility device has all of the rights and duties applicable to a bicyclist under § 316.2065. That statute is a sword, not just a shield. A driver who treats a scooter rider as though they had no business on the roadway is disregarding a right the Legislature granted.

The chain goes one step further. Under § 316.2065(9), a rider on a sidewalk, or crossing a roadway in a crosswalk, “has all the rights and duties applicable to a pedestrian under the same circumstances.” Read together with § 316.2128(1), a scooter rider struck in a crosswalk may be standing in a pedestrian’s legal shoes — which brings the driver’s crosswalk yield duties directly to bear. If that describes your crash, our pedestrian accident lawyer page explains those duties in depth.

Other operating rules that routinely become evidence: riders moving slower than traffic are generally expected to use a bike lane where one is available or ride as near as practicable to the right-hand edge, with exceptions for passing, turning, and avoiding hazards (§ 316.2065(5)); and between sunset and sunrise a white front lamp and a red rear lamp or reflector are required (§ 316.2065(7)). Insurers reach for these rules to shift blame. They cut both ways — a driver’s own violation is equally admissible.

The local layer — and why it matters to your case

Section 316.2128(1) expressly preserves local authority: cities and counties may adopt their own ordinances governing where these devices may operate on streets, sidewalks, and sidewalk areas, and § 316.2128(7) lets them set minimum ages and ID requirements. That means the sidewalk answer in Miami is a local answer — and those rules differ between the City of Miami, Miami Beach, and unincorporated Miami-Dade, and have changed more than once. Which rules applied where and when you were hurt can matter to your case, and it is one of the first things we pin down.

Helmets: what Florida actually requires

Rider	State helmet requirement
Moped rider under 16	Required — Fla. Stat. § 316.211(4)
Moped rider 16 or older	No state requirement
Motorized scooter / micromobility rider, any age	No state requirement — local ordinance only

Section 316.2128 contains no helmet provision at all. Helmet rules for scooters and micromobility devices come from local ordinances, not the state. Insurers still routinely argue that not wearing one makes the rider partly responsible. But a defendant raising that argument has to prove that a helmet would have prevented or reduced the specific injury. In Rex Utilities, Inc. v. Gaddy, 413 So. 2d 1232 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982), the defense was not permitted to argue helmet non-use as comparative negligence because it offered no evidence that the non-use caused the fatal head injury. That causation burden is a real one, and it is often where the argument fails.

A note on the 2026 legislation you may have read about

A 2026 bill (CS/SB 382) would have rewritten Florida’s micromobility statutes and added new rider duties. It passed both chambers and was then vetoed by Governor DeSantis on June 25, 2026. It is not law. A great deal of content published in spring 2026 describes those proposed rules as if they took effect. They did not. Sections 316.003 and 316.2128 remain unchanged. If someone is blaming you for breaking a rule from that bill, they are citing a rule that never took effect.

Deadlines and Fault: Two Years, and the 50% Bar

Two rules shape the value and the survival of every Florida scooter and moped claim.

Two years to file. Under Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a), an action founded on negligence must be brought within two years; wrongful death carries the same two-year period under § 95.11(5)(e). The period was shortened from four years to two by ch. 2023-15 for causes of action accruing on or after March 24, 2023. Evidence in scooter cases — video, device telemetry, rental records, witness memory — degrades long before the deadline does.
The 50% bar. Under Fla. Stat. § 768.81(6), a party found greater than 50 percent at fault for their own harm may not recover damages. Below that line, § 768.81(2) reduces the award proportionally rather than barring it — a rider found exactly 50% at fault still recovers, cut in half.

That second rule is why scooter and moped cases draw such aggressive comparative-fault attacks. Riding on a sidewalk, no helmet, no lights, riding against traffic — insurers push every one of them, because moving a rider from exactly 50 percent to just over 50 percent is the difference between a reduced recovery and none at all. Documenting what the driver did is how that pressure gets answered.

What To Do After a Scooter or Moped Crash in Miami

Get to safety and call 911. If anyone is seriously hurt, request emergency medical help or get to the nearest emergency room.
Get evaluated even if you feel functional. Head, spine, and internal injuries can present hours or days later, and a gap in treatment is the first thing an adjuster will use against you.
Do not admit fault or speculate. “I didn’t see him” becomes an admission. Describe facts to police; leave conclusions alone.
Photograph everything. The device, the vehicle, the lane and any bike lane or crosswalk markings, the signals, debris, skid marks, your injuries, and the surrounding roadway.
Preserve the device and the app data. Do not return, repair, or discard a damaged scooter — it may be the evidence in a defect claim. Screenshot the trip record and any in-app fault reports before they roll off.
Get witness names and numbers. A rider’s own account is easy for an insurer to discount. An independent witness changes that.
Report to your own insurer with basic facts only. Give the date, place, and vehicles involved. Decline a recorded statement about injuries or fault until you have spoken with a lawyer.
Keep every bill, record, and receipt, including time missed from work.
Call a lawyer early, while video still exists and the rental operator’s maintenance records are still retrievable.

How The Perazzo Law Firm Helps

These claims are not car claims with a smaller vehicle. They start from a coverage gap the law created, and they are built by finding the policies that remain — and by refusing to let a rider be blamed by default.

Personal attention from attorney Jonathan Perazzo — your case is not handed off.
No fee unless we win. You pay no attorney’s fee unless we obtain a recovery for you, and nothing up front. Attorney’s fees are a percentage of any recovery. Case costs and expenses — filing fees, records, experts — are advanced by the firm and repaid out of the recovery. Your written fee agreement sets out exactly how fees and costs are handled; read it before you sign.
Bilingual team — English and Español, which matters when the rider, the witnesses, and the crash report are not all in the same language.
4.9-star Google rating and Super Lawyers recognition.
Available 24/7 — including the first days after a crash, when evidence disappears fastest.
Coverage-first investigation — at-fault driver liability, UM/UIM, health and med-pay, rental-operator, and product-liability avenues, rather than stopping at the first “no.”
Trial readiness — every case prepared for trial, not just for settlement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does PIP cover a scooter or moped accident in Florida?

No. Florida’s no-fault law applies to vehicles with four or more wheels under Fla. Stat. § 627.732(3), and mopeds, motorized scooters, and micromobility devices are all designed for three wheels or fewer. There is no PIP attached to the device, and none is required. Recovery has to come from fault-based and other coverage instead.

Who pays my medical bills if there is no PIP?

Typically some combination of the at-fault driver’s bodily injury liability coverage, your own or a resident relative’s UM/UIM coverage under § 627.727, your health insurance, med-pay if you carry it, and — where the device or a defect was involved — the rental operator’s or manufacturer’s coverage. Which of these applies depends entirely on the facts and the policy language. Identifying all of them early is the point of the initial investigation.

I signed the rental app’s terms. Do I still have a case?

Very possibly. A waiver binds only you and the company you signed with — it has no effect on a claim against the driver who hit you, which is often where the recovery actually lives. Florida does enforce these clauses against ordinary negligence claims, but under Harrell v. BMS Partners an exculpatory clause cannot bar a strict products liability claim. Bring the terms in and we will read them.

How long do I have to file a Miami scooter accident claim?

Generally two years from the date of injury under Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a), for claims accruing on or after March 24, 2023. Wrongful death claims also run two years under § 95.11(5)(e). Some claims — for example those involving a government entity — carry additional notice requirements with shorter clocks, so it is best not to wait.

Do I need a helmet to have a case in Florida?

Florida imposes no state helmet requirement on adult scooter or micromobility riders, and requires one for mopeds only when the rider is under 16 (§ 316.211(4)). Local ordinances may say otherwise. Insurers still argue helmet non-use as comparative fault — but a defendant making that argument has to prove a helmet would have prevented or reduced the particular injury, which is a real evidentiary burden.

Can I still recover if I was partly at fault?

In most cases, yes — up to a point. Under Fla. Stat. § 768.81(6) you are barred only if you are found greater than 50 percent at fault. At or below that line, your recovery is reduced in proportion to your share rather than eliminated. Because these cases turn so heavily on that percentage, how fault is documented and argued matters a great deal.

Was I allowed to be on the sidewalk?

Florida state law does not categorically ban it — it regulates it and then hands sidewalk authority to local governments under § 316.2128(1). So the answer depends on the city or county where you were riding, and those rules differ across Miami-Dade and have changed over time. Note too that § 316.2065(9) gives a rider on a sidewalk or in a crosswalk the rights of a pedestrian, which can matter a great deal to how fault is argued.

Is a moped case handled the same way as a motorcycle case?

No, and the difference is statutory. A motorcycle is a “motor vehicle” under § 316.003(47); a moped and a motorized scooter are expressly excluded from that definition by § 316.003(46). That changes registration, insurance, licensing, and how the claim is built. If you were on a registered, tagged motorcycle, our Miami motorcycle accident page is the right starting point.

Talk to a Miami Scooter and Moped Accident Lawyer

You were on a device the insurance system was not designed around, and someone has probably already told you there is no coverage. That is a conclusion, not an answer. A Miami scooter accident lawyer at The Perazzo Law Firm will look at the device, the policies, the rental terms, and the roadway rules that applied — and tell you honestly what may be available.

Free, confidential case evaluation, 24/7
No fee unless we win — no attorney’s fee unless we recover for you, and nothing up front. Case costs are advanced by the firm and repaid from any recovery.
Bilingual — English and Español
Personal attention from attorney Jonathan Perazzo

The Perazzo Law Firm
16666 NE 19th Ave #110, North Miami Beach, FL 33162
Call (786) 529-7411 or visit our contact page for a free case evaluation.

Attorney Advertising. This page is for general information and is not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different and results depend on the specific facts. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Hiring a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely on advertising.