Doctors in Alberta are raising the alarm about an ongoing rise in e-scooter injuries, and they’re particularly concerned about a surge among kids.
The number of people visiting emergency rooms and urgent care centres due to electric scooter incidents is growing steadily, with children’s hospitals seeing the sharpest increases.
According to Alberta Health Services, there were 1,877 related visits during the 2022-23 fiscal year. During the first 11 months of 2025-26, annual visits had jumped to 3,049.
The most significant increases have been seen in the Edmonton zone, where yearly visits have more than doubled.
Annual visits to Alberta’s two children’s hospitals combined (the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton and the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary) for e-scooter injuries more than tripled, jumping to 268 from 85, during the same four-year period.
“I’m very concerned,” said Dr. Stephanie VandenBerg, an ER physician and University of Calgary researcher who has studied e-scooter injuries.
She sees broken and fractured bones, cuts, and serious head trauma, including concussions and brain injuries.
Doctors are also treating severe facial fractures, which occur after someone hits the centre pole of a scooter or other obstacles, such as trees or curbs. That kind of injury is known as a “facial smash,” according to VandenBerg.
“Those are very debilitating, very disabling. And I think they have lifelong impact. So we’re seeing a lot more of those types of injuries,” she said.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) said changes to the way e-scooter injuries are reported may have contributed to the upswing in 2025.
Don’t use your child as an ‘airbag,’ says doc
According to VandenBerg, adults often “double” kids on e-scooters, which can have devastating results.
“That essentially sets that child up to be an airbag. They are the cushion between their adult or their friend and the pole or the handlebar of the electric scooter,” said VandenBerg.
“For kids, their brain is still developing. So any injury to that developing brain or any injury to their developing bones or the skeletal system can have long-term consequences.”
At the University of Alberta, Dr. Brian Rowe also studies e-scooter injuries, including conducting roadside surveys in Edmonton for the past two summers.
“We’ve observed thousands of e-scooter riders and documented dual ridership,” said Rowe, noting many were kids.
“We’ve seen lots of risky behaviour for sure.”
According to Rowe, who is an ER physician, most people don’t wear helmets.
And, he said, there have been e-scooter deaths.
“Speed kills, impairment kills, lack of a helmet kills, riding with somebody else kills, [as does] being young and inexperienced,” he said.
“The data on the children is really shocking, because it’s technically illegal for them to be on them as a driver.”
In Calgary and Edmonton, you have to be 18 to ride a shared e-scooter. Rules around speed, where you can ride and other factors vary from city to city.
“I don’t think that most people who are getting on an e-scooter recognize the risk,” he said.
“And I guarantee you that parents that are allowing their children under the age of 16 to operate these vehicles, they don’t understand the risks associated with the use of those really powerful devices.”
‘Life-altering’
In addition to the increasing frequency of injuries, Rowe said doctors in Edmonton are also seeing more severe injuries.
“Some of these injuries are life-altering, particularly head injury. People who have severe head injuries end up with long-term disabilities,” he said.
For his part, Rowe believes there are far more injuries that go unreported because they’re treated in the community by family physicians, physiotherapists and other health care practitioners.
Rowe is urging Albertans to follow recommendations from the University of Alberta’s Injury Prevention Centre, including wearing a helmet, riding alone and riding sober.
Meanwhile, AHS said doctors are also reporting concerns related to e-scooter collisions involving vehicles, and it is urging safe riding practices.
“This includes wearing a properly fitted helmet, using protective gear, and riding in safe conditions away from traffic,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“Families are encouraged to ensure devices are age-appropriate, supervise younger riders and choose riding areas with good visibility.”
