One in four children seriously injured in e-scooter accidents require intensive care treatment, and two-thirds require surgery, a new Queensland Children’s Hospital (QCH) study has found.
The study also found that 38 percent of children who sustained a head injury experienced ongoing functional impairments affecting cognition, learning, communication and mood.
The retrospective study, published in the ANZ Journal of Surgery, reviewed paediatric e-scooter injuries requiring admission at QCH for more than 24 hours between January 2009 and September 2024.
Over this period, 64 children aged 16 and under were admitted with serious injuries sustained while riding e-scooters.
Sadly, two children died due to severe brain injuries sustained. In both cases, the child was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.
Between 2021 and 2024, e-scooter injury-related admissions at QCH more than doubled, corresponding with the rise in the popularity of e-scooters in Queensland.
The most common area injured was the head, face or neck (51.6%), with fractures the most common injury. Fractures of the skull were recorded in 40 percent of cases.
Falls were the most common cause of injury (70.3%), followed by collisions (29.7%). Collisions with motor vehicles accounted for more than half of incidents reviewed.
Concerningly, the study found 64.3 percent of patients whose helmet status was documented were not wearing a helmet at the time of their injury.
More than a fifth of the injured patients were under the Queensland legal age to be riding an e-scooter.
Queensland Children’s Hospital Director of Paediatric Surgery, Burns and Trauma, Professor Roy Kimble, said the study revealed the stark reality of the severe and life-altering injuries children were experiencing since the introduction of e-scooters.
“The study highlights that the incidence of e-scooter accidents is increasing, and that they are causing serious, sometimes fatal, injuries in children.
“Surgery was required in more than 65 percent of patients, including 28 percent of children who underwent neurosurgery as a result of their injuries,” Professor Kimble said.
Professor Kimble said the high proportion of head injuries underlined the importance of wearing helmets at all times when using e-scooters.
“A helmet should be non-negotiable, even for short trips,” he said. “A helmet can mean the difference between an acute head injury and long-term neuro-cognitive consequences.”
“The high rate of surgical intervention and low helmet use suggest a need for more robust safety measures and public awareness of the risks.”
Read the full study Heads Up: A Retrospective Review of Paediatric Trauma Secondary to Electric Scooters at a Tertiary Paediatric Trauma Centre in Queenslandin the ANZ Journal of Surgery.
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Media contact: t: +61 7 3068 5111 e: chqnews@health.qld.gov.au