Is an Ebike Manufacturer Partly to Blame for the Death of a Minor?

In the USA, the case of a 12-year-old girl who died while riding an ebike is once again causing a stir. Now a judge has approved the settlement between the two families involved in the accident. As the industry magazine Bicycle Retailrer reports, however, the bicycle manufacturer Rad Power Bikes, which was sued in the context, continues to deny such a deal.

Jonathan and Kaye Steinsapir, the parents of the deceased Molly, had asked the Los Angeles County Superior Court in autumn 2022 to approve a settlement reached by mutual agreement with Lyle Green and Melanie Green. That request has now been granted by Judge Richard L. Fruin. The Greens are the parents of the girl who owned the bicycle and was also riding it during the accident. The settlement amounts to a sum of 1.5 million US dollars and names negligence as the cause of the accident. This certainly does not compensate for the loss of the Steinsapirs.

1. What has happened?
2. Lawsuit for wrongful death
3. What are the Steinsapirs’ reasons for suing?
4. What measures did Rad Power Bikes take?
5. How does Bell position itself?
6. Why has Molly’s case become so high profile?
7. What happens next?
8. Not the only allegations against Rad Power Bikes
9. Commemoration in the form of a foundation

1. What has happened?

Molly Steinsapir and the Greens’ daughter are not only neighbourhood children, but best friends. On January 31, 2021, they are both riding their friend’s ebike up a hill in their hometown of Pacific Palisades. Enchanted Way is one of the typical small side streets in the Los Angeles suburb. Lined with single-family homes, it dead-ends at its highest point. It’s an excellent place to turn around and take your time gaining momentum for the roughly one-kilometre descent. The average descent is between eight and nine percent. So, if you want to, you can get a good speed on it.

Molly climbs onto the rear carrier of the ebike. The RadRunner 2 model from Rad Power Bikes has a nice big rack. Even adults can sit comfortably on the utility ebike. At some point, the whole thing becomes too fast for the girls and they try to brake on the steep descent. According to the court documents, the bike begins “to shake and to wobble”. Eventually, both girls fall. Molly’s friend is lucky to escape with superficial cuts and abrasions. Molly, on the other hand, is taken by ambulance to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center unconscious. Although she was wearing a bicycle helmet, she suffers severe brain injuries. Despite all medical efforts, she does not regain consciousness. Molly Steinsapir dies on 15 February 2021.

Molly and her friend rode a Radrunner 2 from Rad Power Bikes.

2. Lawsuit for wrongful death

About half a year later, in August 2022, Jonathan and Kaye Steinsapir sue the bicycle manufacturer Rad Power Bikes and the helmet brand Giro. Their accusation is “Wrongful death” in US legal jargon. In German, this can best be translated as culpable homicide. It is a common charge in the USA, which aims at the payment of compensation because close relatives were killed.

However, Molly’s parents are not in for a lengthy trial. Instead, they are proposing a settlement to Rad Power Bikes. The manufacturer is to pay exactly the percentage of the insurance sum of seven million US dollars that a competent court attributes to it in terms of blame for the accident – no more. So far, the family is claiming economic damages of almost 800,000 US dollars. According to several media, these are the costs for the medical treatment of their deceased daughter.

3. What are the Steinsapirs’ reasons for suing?

In the Steinsapirs’ view, their daughter’s death could have been prevented. They base this on two points in particular. Firstly, in their opinion, the manufacturer does not sufficiently point out that its ebikes are not always suitable for minors. In the case of the Radwaggon 2, there is indeed such a notice. However, on page 49 of the 57-page manual, it merely states in rather small print that this model should only be ridden by people who are at least 18 years old. Rad Power Bikes ships its ebikes directly to customers. So there is no sales talk in a bike shop where this statement could ever be made. Jonathan and Kaye Steinsapir, both lawyers themselves by the way, have emphasised several times in interviews that they consider a notice directly on the bike to be appropriate.

The second point of criticism concerns the technical equipment of the ebike. It features disc brakes, but only a mechanical version, whose braking power is lower than that of hydraulic brakes. In addition, Rad Power Bikes combines them with quick-releases, which, according to the Steinsapirs, is “a known safety hazard in the industry”. The manufacturer knew about the issue but ignored it, Jonathan Steinsapir said, among other things, in an interview with the US television station ABC in the summer of 2022.

In addition, the accusation keeps coming up that it was the ebike with its motor assistance that brought the two girls into the dangerous situation. With a regular bike, they would not have managed the climb up the Enchanted Way and would never have got into the situation.

4. What measures did Rad Power Bikes take?

In response to the Steinsapirs’ lawsuit and their offer to settle, Rad Power Bikes in turn filed a lawsuit against the Greens’ family. In it, the manufacturer denies being liable for the death. At best, they were “passively” responsible. The real fault lies with the Greens. They should have read the warning and prevented the children from riding the ebike. Therefore, they should indemnify Rad Power Bikes for part of the liability if the manufacturer is found guilty at the end of the court case.

5. How does Bell position itself?

In the lawsuit, Bell Sports is, after all, a second company that is considering suing. As a reminder, Molly was wearing a Giro helmet on that fateful day. The helmet broke and was a decisive reason why Molly suffered such severe brain injuries and ultimately died. Giro is one of Bell’s sister brands. Both in turn belong to the Vista Outdoor Group. Bell also denies any responsibility for any possible liability. However, the company has accepted the settlement between the Greens and the Steinsapirs.

6. Why has Molly’s case become so high profile?

Shortly after her daughter was admitted to hospital, Kate Steinsapir was very outspoken about the situation. She reported on Molly’s fight for survival on Twitter and posted several pictures and videos. The topic and the hashtag #teammolly quickly spread within the platform. Well-known newspapers such as the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times picked up the story. Together with her husband, Kate was also a guest on ABC’s popular news programme “Good Morning America”.

A picture from happier days: Molly surrounded by her family with her parents Kate Steinsapir and Jonathan Steinsapir.

7. What happens next?

There is still enough time for Rad Power Bikes to respond to the present settlement. At least this way the manufacturer could keep its own financial damage within manageable limits. Other companies in the USA have already had to pay large sums in damages for significantly less tragic events. If no agreement is reached, it will all come down to a court case. From a distance, the Steinsapirs in particular seem to have done a lot to avoid this so far. The trial has already been scheduled to begin on 16 October 2023.

8. Not the only allegations against Rad Power Bikes

As the Los Angeles Times reports, this is not the first time Rad Power Bikes has been accused of being responsible for accidents involving its ebikes. In the Californian town of Manhattan Beach, an eleven-year-old was also riding a RadRunner model in July 2022 when the front wheel came off. As a result, the boy fell over the handlebars, but fortunately landed on his feet. He was spared serious injuries.

Less fortunate in 2019, however, was a woman from Coto de Caza, also in California. On a rental bike from Rad Power Bikes, the then 54-year-old fell while braking on a descent, she said. According to the newspaper, she was thrown from the bike, was briefly unconscious and suffered a concussion. She had also been wearing a bicycle helmet.

A mural at the Pierson Playhouse in Pacific Palisades remembers Molly Steinsapir. The girl had taken part in plays such as “Peter Pan” and “Guys and Dolls” at the theatre.

9. Commemoration in the form of a foundation

Molly’s parents have used their unwanted celebrity to set up the Molly Steinsapir Foundation together with other volunteers. With the foundation, they support charitable projects dedicated to issues that were close to their daughter’s heart. For example, they used the money they raised to sponsor zoo visits for hundreds of foster children, provide them with urgently needed school supplies or support Theatre Palisades and Marquez Charter Elementary School – both places that were very important to Molly in her life.

Pictures: Molly Steinsapir Foundation; Rad Power Bikes Inc.