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The Fractures These Crashes Produce
Fracture patterns follow mechanism, and e-bike crashes produce a fairly consistent set. Knowing which mechanism produced yours is part of proving how the crash happened.
| Site | Mechanism and Note |
|---|---|
| Clavicle | The classic outcome of going over the bars and landing on an outstretched arm or the point of the shoulder — a dooring, a fork failure, a captured front wheel. |
| Distal radius and wrist | Bracing against the ground. Frequently bilateral, and consequential for anyone whose work is manual or keyboard-based. |
| Ribs and sternum | Impact against handlebars or the flank of a vehicle in a left cross. Watch for underlying internal injury. |
| Pelvis and hip | Lateral impact, generally in a higher-energy collision with a vehicle. |
| Tibia, fibula and ankle | Direct impact, or the leg trapped between machine and vehicle or roadway. |
| Scaphoid | Small, easily missed on initial imaging, and prone to poor healing if not identified — which is why persistent wrist pain warrants re-imaging. |
The common factor is that a rider has nothing between them and the impact. Forces that a vehicle occupant would meet through a restraint and a crumple structure are met by bone.
Healing Is Not the Same as Recovery
The single most damaging assumption in a fracture claim is that once the bone has united, the injury is over. The record frequently shows otherwise, and the assumption tends to be made at exactly the point an early settlement offer arrives.
- Retained hardware. Plates, screws, rods and pins may stay for life or require a second procedure to remove. Either is a consequence.
- Restricted range of movement, particularly at the shoulder, wrist, and ankle.
- Post-traumatic arthritis, where a fracture involved a joint surface. It develops over years rather than months.
- Malunion or nonunion, requiring further surgery.
- Altered mechanics and chronic pain, including at sites away from the fracture as the body compensates.
- Occupational consequences — a wrist that will not take load ends some kinds of work regardless of how well the bone healed.
Legally this is where Fla. Stat. § 627.737(2)(b) operates: “permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement.” That is a clinical opinion about the future, and it has to be obtained rather than assumed. Where movement is permanently restricted, (a) — significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function — may also be engaged, and surgical scarring may separately engage (c).
Whether the threshold applies to an e-bike rider is bound up with the unresolved PIP question — but the documentation you need is the same either way.
David I. Shiner, Esq.
Founder, Shiner Law Group · AV Preeminent® rated · Florida Bar member since 2002
David I. Shiner founded Shiner Law Group and has been a member of The Florida Bar since 2002. He is a graduate of Nova Southeastern University’s law school and holds an AV Preeminent® rating from Martindale-Hubbell. The firm represents injured people across Florida from offices in Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Pierce, Orlando, Wellington, and Belle Glade, and handles these cases on a contingency basis with free consultations and no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery.
What to Document, and When
- Attend every follow-up. Gaps in orthopaedic follow-up are read as recovery.
- Ask about permanence explicitly, at the right time. A surgeon will not usually volunteer a prognosis about permanent restriction unless asked, and it is the opinion § 627.737(2)(b) turns on.
- Record range of movement as it is measured, at each stage.
- Keep imaging, not just reports. The images themselves may need review later.
- Document what you cannot do, specifically and by date — work tasks, childcare, driving, sleep position, activities given up.
- Follow through on physiotherapy, and record what it did and did not restore.
- Photograph surgical scars as they mature, which may engage § 627.737(2)(c) separately.
- Preserve the bicycle. If a component failed and caused the fall, that is a product claim — see mechanical failures.
The two-year period in Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a) runs while all of this is happening. Post-traumatic arthritis in particular may not declare itself inside it, which is a reason to have the claim assessed early.
Fractures From an E-Bike Crash?
Shiner Law Group offers free case reviews for Florida e-bike riders — 24/7, no fee unless you win.
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Who Pays for a Fracture
No coverage attaches to the bicycle: Fla. Stat. § 316.20655(2) exempts electric bicycles from financial responsibility requirements, and Fla. Stat. § 627.732(3) defines a PIP motor vehicle as having four or more wheels, so no PIP is written on it.
The routes are the at-fault driver’s liability coverage; uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage under Fla. Stat. § 627.727, which must be on a Florida policy unless a named insured rejected it in writing on a compliant form; a product claim where a component failed; health insurance; and a claim against a road authority under Fla. Stat. § 768.28, capped at $200,000 per person by § 768.28(5).
Whether household PIP reaches an e-bike rider is unresolved. Do not assume it will pay, and do not accept a flat denial either. Insurance after an e-bike crash sets out the order worth checking.