E-bike crisis: Gold Coast University Hospital presentations skyrocket by 159 per cent

From broken bones and severe head injuries, the number of victims presenting to emergency after e-mobility crashes has almost tripled in recent years as the crisis continues to spiral out of control.

From broken collarbones to severe head injuries, Gold Coast’s busiest hospital is treating victims of e-bike and e-scooter accidents every day as the crisis spirals out of control.

Gold Coast University Hospital’s emergency department has recorded a significant increase in presentations due to e-bike or e-scooter crashes.

Presentations have skyrocketed by 159 per cent — from 288 presentations in the 2021-2022 to 747 presentations in the 2024-2025 financial year.

Acting Clinical Director for ED Dr Hayley Frieslich said it was concerning.

“That is a big worry for us on many levels,” she said.

There have been a string of serious crashes involving e-mobility devices on the Gold Coast in recent months, leaving riders severely injured.

Acting Clinical Director for ED Dr Hayley Frieslich at Gold Coast University Hospital. Picture: Glenn Hampson

A teenage girl suffered a critical head injury after an e-scooter incident at Oxenford on Saturday about 2pm.

On Friday night, a man sustained a shoulder injury after an e-bike incident just before midnight at Robina.

There were also two incidents on Thursday with a man in his 20s suffering leg and chest injuries after an e-scooter crash at Labrador and a teenager injured his leg after an e-bike incident at Robina.

All patients were taken to GCUH for treatment.

The scene of an e-bike crash Ashmore on November 6. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Dr Frieslich said the most common injuries were collarbones and radial, where the hand meets the arm, fractures.

“As they fall, they put their hands out (to protect themselves) and they end up with a crack in their bone at the wrist,” she said.

“Anything involving a collarbone or an arm can put patients out of action for at least six months, sometimes longer.

“These are not traditional fractures that require an operation but need to be immobilised in a sling or in plaster.

“Some patients heal really well … but there is also a proportion of fractures that don’t heal as anticipated and that is for various reasons.”

A man rides an e-bike in Brisbane. Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

In the past five years, children aged 13 to 18 accounted for 30 per cent of all e-bike ED presentations.

Twenty four per cent of all presentations required admission to hospital while 10 per cent needed treatment within the intensive care unit.

“These are severe and significant injuries and those are just the ones that make it to hospital,” Dr Frieslich said.

“There are multiple tragic cases, not only in our own city but across the country, of young people losing their lives.”

Hudson Gagg, 17, was a pillion passenger on an e-bike in September this year when it crashed at Tallebudgera.

Paramedics worked to save him but he died at the scene.

Worongary teenager Fudou Stovell died after an electric dirt bike crash at Broadbeach in October.

Hudson Gagg, 17, died in a Tallebudgera e-bike crash.

Fudou Stovell, 15, from Worongary died after an e-bike crash in Broadbeach on the Gold Coast. Picture: TikTok

“The impact on their families and the communities around them is significant,” Dr Frieslich said.

“Anything that prevents a single death is worth pursuing.”

Gold Coast Chief Superintendent Kylie Rigg urged parents to check the e-devices they were buying for their children were legal and compliant.

“Awareness is key,” she said.

“There are rules and regulations about what can and can’t be on our roads.

“Young people aren’t equipped to be riding these high-powered devices.

“If we wouldn’t put a child behind the wheel of a car that can travel at high speeds, why do we put our children on these e-bikes?

“They’re out and about on the footage, they’re riding among traffic and they really need to be able to keep themselves safe.”

A parliamentary inquiry into e-bike usage across Queensland is expected to hand down its report in March next year, despite calls for laws to be fast-tracked in light of recent tragedies.

Originally published as E-bike crisis: Gold Coast University Hospital presentations skyrocket by 159 per cent