Simone Porseryd still does not know how the accident with the electric scooter happened. She doesn’t remember it herself and there were no witnesses. A man passing by found her on the street and called 112.
– For me, it’s completely black until they wake me up on the respirator, she says.
The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was a sea of doctors. She had undergone surgery to repair a skull fracture and stop extensive bleeding in the brain.
– For the first few hours, I didn’t think I would live on. I thought I was going to die, says Simone.
But doctors told her she could survive if she decided to fight.
– Since then I have struggled. Everything has progressed and every day I am getting a little healthier.
The number of electrocution accidents is increasing
Simone is not alone in being injured in an accident with an electric scooter. Last year, more than 3,400 personal injuries linked to electric scooters were reported. And the number of cases looks set to increase this year as well.
The death toll has also increased. So far this year, four people have lost their lives in accidents involving electric scooters.
Ragnar Ang is chief physician in Surgery at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg. He has cared for many of the patients who hide in the accident statistics and believes that the infrastructure in our cities is not adapted for electric scooters.
– Every little curb or pothole in the road is a point of risk, so you expose yourself to a lot of risks when you get through the city, he says.
– We are very surprised that there is no helmet requirement for e-kick cyclists because they are significantly more likely to injure themselves than cyclists. We are very keen that rules should be introduced around helmet use and age, among other things.
This is how Simone lives today
Simone is grateful to be alive. She has suffered from brain fatigue after the accident and today that is what bothers her the most.
– I have never been very good at resting, sleeping or taking it easy. But now I’m making it my branch and practicing it in every way I can, she says.
Traumatic brain injuries can be difficult to recover from. The doctors were unsure if Simone would ever be able to walk again, but today she can.
– I am certainly not the first and unfortunately not the last to come in due to an electric shock accident, but I have been so lucky.
Yesterday 19:07
The number of accidents involving electric scooters continues to increase in Sweden
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