CBS 2: Los Angeles Hospitals See Increases in E-Bike Crashes and Injuries
CBS 2 recently interviewed Galinos Barmparas, MD, medical director of Trauma in the Jim and Eleanor Randall Department of Surgery at Cedars-Sinai, about the growing number of serious injuries caused by high-speed e-bike crashes.
Barmparas treats some of the most seriously injured patients who arrive at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center—a Level I trauma center prepared to treat highly complex cases.
He told CBS 2 reporter Brittney Ermon that the hospital’s trauma team is seeing injuries to “the head, the brain, and a lot of fractures in the face, the arms, massive road rashes.”
He said a single mistake can have devastating, lifelong consequences.
“Saving their life the first day is just the beginning,” Barmparas told Ermon. “And then it’s the story of how you recover from those massive injuries.”
He said many of the injured patients are teenagers, noting that high speeds and risky behavior can quickly lead to serious crashes.
“It’s heartbreaking to see that the kid was just trying to have some fun and they come in with devastating injuries that change their life forever,” he told Ermon.
Barmparas urged e-bike riders to slow down, ride safely and wear a helmet designed and rated for e-bike use.
“We do our best to save the patient, but the best trauma story is a story that never happens,” he said.
Experts also urge drivers and pedestrians to stay alert around e-bikes, and they warn against carrying passengers on bikes not designed for multiple riders.
Read the complete article and watch the segment from CBS 2.