In a gripping legal battle, an individual has taken action against a prominent electric scooter manufacturer, alleging severe injuries from a malfunctioning product. Darrin Griffin filed the complaint in Harris County District Court on October 25, 2024, targeting Golabs Inc., doing business as Gotrax, and Tao Motor Inc.
The case revolves around an incident that occurred on January 16, 2023, when Griffin was riding a Gotrax electric scooter in Houston. According to the petition, while traveling at a moderate speed, the scooter unexpectedly folded in half due to a failure in its safety mechanisms. This catastrophic malfunction resulted in Griffin being thrown from the vehicle and sustaining significant injuries including a coma and damage to his brain, face, ribs, wrist, shoulder, neck, and back. The plaintiff argues that the scooter was either defectively designed or manufactured—or both—leading to this dangerous outcome.
Griffin's lawsuit accuses Golabs Inc., Gotrax, and Tao Motor Inc. of negligence for failing to provide a safe product. He claims they breached their duty by allowing a scooter design that could fold during operation and failed to engage necessary safety features. The suit also alleges strict products liability due to design defects that rendered the scooter unreasonably dangerous for its intended use. Furthermore, it highlights manufacturing defects that compromised the scooter's safety under foreseeable conditions.
Additionally, Griffin contends there was a marketing defect as the companies did not adequately warn users about potential risks associated with their scooters. He argues that despite knowing about these dangers from internal testing or other sources, the defendants did not inform consumers of such risks.
The plaintiff is seeking compensation for various damages including physical pain and suffering (both past and future), mental anguish, medical expenses (past and future), loss of earning capacity (past and future), disfigurement (past and future), pre-judgment interest, post-judgment interest, exemplary damages for gross negligence due to conscious indifference towards consumer safety.
Representing Darrin Griffin are attorneys Lucas W. Williams and Lauren M. Horne from DeSouza Law Firm based in San Antonio. The case is presided over by Judge Wanda Chambers under Case ID 2024-74663 in Harris County's 151st Judicial District Court.